


This Side of The End

by The_Consulting_Werewolf



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Death, Drug Use, M/M, Suicide, dark humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-02 08:53:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13314753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Consulting_Werewolf/pseuds/The_Consulting_Werewolf
Summary: Yifan and Junmyeon meet, but not in this life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> warnings are for drug use and sensitive topics, mostly suicide, homophobia and other stuff

Junmyeon is running down the long, white corridor, fixing his hat as he grumbles under his breath, his face scrunched up in annoyance. Like seriously, he heard them the first two times; and yet, here they go, still shouting and the alarms are still blaring, “REAPER JUNMYEON REPORT TO THE HEAD OFFICE. REAPER JUNMYEON REPORT TO THE HEAD OFFICE. REAPER JUNMYEON REPORT TO THE HEAD OFFICE. REAPER JUNMYEON REPORT TO THE HEAD OFFICE. REAPER JUNMYEON REPORT TO THE HEAD OFFICE...”

Junmyeon grits his teeth; the mechanical female voice is equivalent to running a cheese grater over his nerves. He heard them the first time, why repeat it ten million times. He fixes his hair as he steps on the elevator. In his distracted state, he doesn’t realise he bumped into another person. He looks up and shrivels up inside when he finds the person glaring him, disgust still apparent. “Morning Junmyeon,” the woman says, her voice colder than the Arctic circle.

Junmyeon turns around and presses the button for floor hundred. “Morning Joohyun.” Afterlife is a large place, yet he still keeps running into his ex-girlfriend. He doesn’t know who to blame (maybe he should find the truck driver who knocked down Joohyun and killed her—that person went and made even his afterlife unbearable, thank you very much).

Thankfully, Joohyun gets down at the thirtieth floor, her black robe flowing behind her. She too is a reaper like him, but she mostly does desk jobs, unlike him, who has to run around and collect souls. The head office at the hundredth floor are responsible for dispatching reapers to collect souls, and they don’t usually blare the alarms, so Junmyeon knows this is another high-profile death.

The elevator speeds up and in a few seconds, the doors open and Junmyeon stumbles out, only to find the Head Reaper’s head secretary standing there with an impassive face. Sooyeon looks at her watch and goes, “You are ten minutes and forty-three seconds late.”

Junmyeon bites down on his lower lip to bite back the retort on his tongue. He was sleeping! And he lives on the tenth floor, what where they expecting? He can’t fly. But he just bows his head and mumbles, “Sorry.”

Sooyeon says nothing but turns around and stalks off as Junmyeon scrambles to follow. They reach the office and Sooyeon knocks twice, her movements irritatingly crisp and graceful to Junmyeon, who misses the comfort of his bed and blanket. The door opens and Sooyeon raises an eyebrow, which Junmyeon understands as his cue to enter. As soon as he enters the office, the Head Reaper says, “Ah Junmyeon, good morning. You are late.”

Junmyeon wants to say he knows, but he bows his head. “Sorry sir.”

Yesung nods as he waves his hand, and with his other hand brandishes a folder in Junmyeon’s face, who takes it. He flips it open and he reads the name, “Wu Yifan? Isn’t he Chinese? Why are we picking him up?”

Yesung sighs, and looks at Junmyeon like he was expecting it. “He lives in Seoul and the China office is currently too busy, what with the sudden heat wave.”

Junmyeon finds very little sense in that but work is work, and he looks down at the profile. Every human on earth, based on where they live, has a file of their life and death. So does Yifan, who died at the age of twenty-eight from an overdose, and was meant to go that way, his fate already decided when he was born. Junmyeon learns Yifan was an up and coming lawyer and he briefly wonders why he would kill himself, but that’s none of his business, so he closes the folder and says, “So, do I go now?”

“Yes, he has been rushed to a hospital, and as you can tell, his death is not normal, so bring him here when you find him.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon puts the folder in his messenger bag and walks out of the room. He heads for level 50 A, the elevator moving horizontally instead of vertically, and no matter how long he has been doing this, it still leaves his insides feeling weird. He heaves a sigh of relief when he gets to the floor and walks up to the portal guardian, who is only to happy to see him. “Morning Junmyeon, here for the hotshot lawyer?”

Junmyeon frowns, but then he remembers that Jiyong looks over all the realms, of both mortality and immortality, his strange colour-shifting eyes see and know everything. Junmyeon just nods and fixes his bag because the journey to the living plane always jostles him (and one time when he wasn’t holding his bag too tightly, it ended up on the other side of Afterlife and that was the biggest bureaucratic scandal of that year).

Jiyong smiles as his eyes turn a deep shade of amber. A wind whips around his ankles and small black hole, large enough for Junmyeon, opens up behind him. Junmyeon braces himself as he steps in it, and after a powerful surge wherein he feels like someone left him inside a blender, he sways and falls on his knees. He puts his hands on the floor, which is the ever-so-familiar cold tile floor of a hospital, to push himself up. He doesn’t know which hospital, since years and years of collecting souls has led to every hospital blending in his brain. They all are the same—cold floors and antiseptic scents. And the overwhelming aura of sadness and hope.

He walks down the corridor, the other humans oblivious to him. No one can see or hear him, besides people who are dying or dead, and he can tell the old lady on the bench and the young boy in the hospital gown peering at him from his father’s arms are close to their ends because they are the only ones who widen their eyes at him. The lady doesn’t look too surprised, and even sends him a smile, which he returns. But the boy gets confused and asks his father, who obviously cannot see anyone.

Junmyeon’s heart always hurts when it comes to collect souls of children. He always feels like their deaths are such a waste—they are young, and their lives had only begun, he just feels it is so unfair. He brushes those thoughts off and hopes he isn’t the one who is made responsible to collect another young soul again. He finally locates Yifan’s room and it surprises him when he sees the room empty besides a doctor and what looks to be a cop.

The cop says, “So, you are saying he can’t be saved?”

“He’s already brain-dead Detective Jung,” the doctor answers. “Have you located next of kin?”

The cop nods. “We are still trying.”

The doctor sighs. “No one came to see him as well.”

Junmyeon frowns down at the man lying on the hospital bed. He is tall, and his hair looks freshly cut, but when Junmyeon peers closer, he sees it—the tell-tale signs of long-term substance abuse. He can see how thin Yifan is, sign of loss of apetite, and his skin is dry and pale. Additionally, he can the red, irritated skin caused by scratching too much. Wu Yifan isn’t his first overdose victim after all, but what surprises him is the lack of people crying over him. He hears the cop say, “Was it amphetamine?”

“Yes, methamphetamine to be precise.” Junmyeon knows what that is, he remembers something, an incident from his past, when he was still living and breathing. The doctor sounds wistful as he continues, “He really doesn’t fit the profile of an abuser.”

Junmyeon scoffs, are the punch marks on Yifan’s elbow invisible? But the cop answers his question, “He really doesn’t, though he had the money for it. We don’t know what he did and why he did it, investigations are still going on. We aren’t sure if it is accidental or intentional.”

“You mean suicide or murder?”

“I could save them time and tell them myself,” a deep voice grumbles behind him. Junmyeon nearly jumps out of his socks since it startles him. He turns around and sees Yifan scowling down at his body, his arms crossed, dressed in the clothes they brought him in. He finally notices Junmyeon and he cocks an eyebrow, “And who the fuck are you?”

Junmyeon presses his lips. “I am Junmyeon, a grim reaper. I am here to collect you.”

“A reaper?” Yifan asks as he checks Junmyeon out, who feels offended at the highly judgemental gaze. “Aren’t you too tiny to be a reaper?”

Junmyeon’s mouth drops. No one, in his history as a reaper, has ever said something so insulting to him. His grip tightens on the bag as he hisses out, “My height has nothing to do with my job.”

Yifan chuckles and it makes him handsome and Junmyeon hates it. “So, you here to take me away?”

Junmyeon relaxes as he looks back at the Yifan lying on the bed. He knows that as soon as Junmyeon whisks him away, he will flatline. So, he looks back at Yifan and asks the question he always asks, “Yes, but would you like to wait another hour?”

“For what?”

Junmyeon is taken aback. He has never been asked that, so he fumbles, “Um, in case someone comes, and you would like to say goodbye to them?”

Yifan scoffs, and it is bitter and sad, “No one’s gonna come for me. Take me away already Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon stamps down on his increasing bafflement and reaches for Yifan, who frowns but catches up and lets Junmyeon grab his hand, which the reaper notices dwarf his hand easily. He looks up and says, “Alright, the journey to the Afterlife is kind of uncomfortable, so I suggest you hold your breath.” However, Junmyeon finds Yifan looking down at his body with a wistful expression on his face, and he asks again, gently, “Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”

Yifan shakes his head as he looks down at Junmyeon again. “No, I am sure. No one’s gonna come for me Mr Reaper, no one liked me when I was alive, so let’s just go.”

Junmyeon would like to say that is never true, he has seen what death does to people. But he doesn’t dally as he says, “Jiyong, I am ready.”

Before Yifan could ask him who’s he talking to, he makes an incoherent noise when he sees a black hole forming behind Junmyeon. The reaper says, “Through right there, Mr Wu.”

 

The journey was strange, and highly uncomfortable, as Junmyeon said, but Yifan didn’t know just how _uncomfortable._ He wheezes as he clutches his stomach, certain his intestines have been rearranged. He coughs, “This is worse than dying.”

Someone laughs and when Yifan straightens up, he sees a man with one green eye and one blue eye smiling down at him, “You must be Yifan, right? Your death was sad, but not something unexpected. Wasn’t your first attempt, eh?”

Yifan breathes faster when he sees the smirk on the man’s face. He asks, his voice shaking, “How did you know?”

“He knows everything,” Junmyeon says. “He is a portal guardian.”

Jiyong bows. “And it is my business to poke my nose, or in my case, my eyes, where it doesn’t belong.”

“Right,” Yifan says. He takes a look around, and is kind of underwhelmed. Afterlife is…an office? Because he is sure he has walked into an office like this sometime in his existence. All glass walls and one table with a chair; there is even a potted plant for some reason, but the only difference is that instead of a panoramic urban view, all Yifan can see is white clouds.

“Now, Mr Wu, follow me,” Junmyeon says as he marches forward and Yifan follows, still trying to process. He was ready to go, die, but this he wasn’t expecting. An elevator pings open in front of them, the insides gilded in gold and when they whoosh close, he finally breaks, “What is this?”

“Afterlife Inc.,” Junmyeon answers as he presses the button for the hundredth floor.

“Wait, afterlife is a company?” Yifan feels lost.

“Yes. We have branches in every country, and according to people’s faith, we rearrange ourselves,” Junmyeon was prepared, and this is the explanation that every reaper has memorised, “Since Korea has both Buddhist and Christian populations, we have two sub-branches. I am, as you can tell, from the Buddhist branch.”

Yifan nods. He was never religious, but he supposes the Buddhist branch would come for him. He fixes his gaze on Junmyeon again and he realises the reaper is sort of handsome. Ash blond hair sweeps over his brows and there is a mole over his lips, and his skin is flawless. Yifan says, “Okay, so tell me something.”

Junmyeon looks at him, his eyes kind since he expects another question regarding Afterlife, but what he gets is, “Are all reapers as cute as you?” His mouth drops again as he tries to formulate a response. Yifan doubles in laughter at his gobsmacked face and Junmyeon can feel his face heating up. He clenches his jaw as he says, “I suggest you don’t ask me such silly questions.”

Yifan shuts up but the mischievous gleam in his eyes remain and Junmyeon quickly turns his back. He waits till they hit 90 A, before pulling the lever to go sideways. He relishes Yifan’s yelp of surprise and smiles to himself. Yifan cries as he flattens himself to the elevator wall, “What the fuck is that? How are we moving sideways? This is impossible!”

Junmyeon calmly replies, “You just travelled between dimensions and this surprises you? Laws of physics don’t apply here Mr Lawyer.”

The doors slide open to floor 100, which is much more richly decorated than the other floor Yifan was on. Junmyeon steps out of the elevator and turns around, his face impassive as he waits for Yifan to follow, who does so with his knees shaking slightly.

They walk down a carpeted corridor and it is mostly empty besides a handful of people typing, that too on typewriters. Yifan has never seen a live typewriter outside of movies or television shows. Soon, they reach a door, and Junmyeon knocks twice before a voice says, “Come in.”

They enter the office, which is large and Yifan deems the entire floor of his previous office could fit here, and his office was already large enough. But the entire space is filled with file cabinets, and that is all Yifan can see. A man sits behind a desk, dressed similarly to Junmyeon, minus the hat. He stands up and greets Yifan, “Ah, Mr Wu, welcome to Afterlife.” Yifan shakes the hand extended to him. The man continues, “I am Yesung, Head Reaper of the Korean Afterlife branch. Now, Reaper Junmyeon, could you step outside for a second?”

Junmyeon nods. He knows the protocol, he brings high-profile souls to the office only when the soul is destined for a fate other than eternal rest or reincarnation. He too was brought here when he died, and he chose to be a reaper, and he knows Yifan too would be asked the same. He wonders what the man will choose.

As he takes a seat on an overstuffed sofa by the large window, he watches the clouds moving, and an aeroplane flies by, unaware of them. The Afterlife sits in a pocket dimension within the mortal plane. Jiyong, who has been around since existence, is the one who can control entry and exit out of this pocket dimension. But, Jiyong isn’t the only one, every branch has a guardian like him, controlling who comes in and who goes out. He was lucky he didn’t have to stand in a line today.

After Yifan decides what he wants, Junmyeon would either escort him to the Reaper Office or stay with him till the ground floor, where Yifan would have to travel alone to the immortal plane of the underworld. Junmyeon shivers when he thinks of it; the ground floor is always cold and dark, the source of light being the lanterns that always look one blow of wind away from extinguishment. Junmyeon hates that place and he is thankful he only had to go there twice as his existence as a reaper.

A few minutes pass and the door opens to Yifan walking out, looking smug. Junmyeon walks up to him and asks, “So, where to?”

The smugness on Yifan’s face increases and Junmyeon gets a foreboding. “The Reaper Office and then the living quarters?”

Junmyeon’s eyes widen. “You chose to be a reaper?”

Yifan nods and pushes his hands in his pyjama pockets. “And I asked you to be my mentor.”

Junmyeon gasps, “What, why?”

Yifan shrugs and he leans closer. Junmyeon instinctively leans backwards, his heart racing. “You are cute, that’s why.”

For the third time that day, Junmyeon’s mouth drops in shock and his face warms up. As Yifan cackles at his expression, Junmyeon finds that suffering doesn’t end in death, definitely not when one has to mentor a six feet tall obnoxious man who keeps saying the most ridiculous things.


	2. Chapter 2

Junmyeon is seething. Not only did Yifan manage to convince Yesung to make him his mentor, but he also somehow ended up as Junmyeon’s roommate. Junmyeon used to stay with another reaper, but the man wanted to be reincarnated, so he had vacated a while ago. Yifan moved in with his reaper uniforms and his casual robes. Junmyeon wanted to scratch his face off by the end of three days.

Yifan snores in his sleep, but that is not the biggest issue. The problem is how many times Yifan has “accidentally” touched Junmyeon’s butt. The first time was believable, but when it happened two more times, Junmyeon knows they were no accidents. But he has no time to tell Yifan off since they have been summoned. As a rule, young reapers must have mentors, who they must observe for a year before moving on to solo missions. So, Junmyeon will have to bring along Yifan for the next few cases, unfortunately.

His face however, right now, is warm for all the wrong reasons. Yifan, since he really has no sense of decency, started stripping out of his pyjamas and into his reaper robes right in front of Junmyeon, who eventually averted his eyes the moment Yifan pulled the string of his pants. But, whatever he glimpsed was rather nice and the memory of hard, sharp planes of muscles now refuses to leave his head. Junmyeon was half expecting Yifan to be skeletal, but he had forgotten how after death, everyone reverts to the time when their bodies were healthy. Unconsciously, Junmyeon touches his neck, half expecting to feel the ragged cut on his neck.

He puts down his hand when they reach floor 50. Yifan asks, “So, what are we doing here?”

Junmyeon answers, “First, we collect the folder of our soul from the office and then go to Jiyong.”

Yifan pats the messenger bag around his shoulder, “But why the bag?”

“As I mentioned, every reaper keeps a record of the souls they collect. And you need a bag for carrying money.”

“Why money?”

“You will see,” Junmyeon smirks as he locates the cubicle he’s looking for. “Hello Yongsun.”

The chirpy desk employee beams up at him as she hands him a file. When her gaze lands on Yifan shuffling behind Junmyeon, she bats her eyes and flicks her hair over her shoulder, “And who is this?”

Before Junmyeon can answer, Yifan shoves him to the side and smirks down at Yongsun, whose cheeks darken. “The name’s Yifan, new reaper on the block. Nice to make your acquaintance, Miss?”

“Yongsun,” she says quite breathlessly. Junmyeon rolls his eyes, and realises that Yifan probably flirts with anything that moves on two feet. But they have to go, they have work to do, so Junmyeon clears his throat, loud enough to stop Yifan and Yongsun smiling at each other.

Much to Junmyeon’s irritation, Yifan lightly presses his lips on Yongsun’s hand and then raises an eyebrow at Junmyeon, who just huffs and starts walking towards 50 A. He hears Yifan following and Yongsun’s cheerful, “See you around Yifan!”

They don’t talk much as they travel through the portal and on to a busy street in Seoul. It is only when they are sitting on the ledge of a shop, does Yifan ask, “So, what are the dating rules up at Afterlife?”

Junmyeon sighs and pinches his nose. He knew this was coming, so he says, “There aren’t any, since no one can get pregnant or STDs anymore.”

“So, one-night stands are cool?”

“Yes, and I will fucking send you to hell if you show up with Yongsun in our room.” Junmyeon tries to look serious and it only makes Yifan laugh. “What? What’s so funny? I am serious!”

Yifan clasps his hands and coughs, “You are so cute when you try to look mad.”

Junmyeon takes a deep, deep breath and mutters, “Fuck my life.”

Yifan grins but he lets Junmyeon be as he looks around. He recognises the intersection, and suddenly, he feels odd. His stomach swoops when he realises how days ago he was driving his car to work, right through this place. And now, he is an invisible, supernatural entity about to collect souls.

Yesung did tell him that for a freshly dead person, he was handling death and the existence of the afterlife pretty well. Yifan himself was amazed by how easily he adjusted, but then again, his life had very little for him, despite the money, sex and fame. He was alone, and he died alone. At least, in his death he made a friend as he side-eyes Junmyeon, who is busy flipping through the folder. Granted, he had annoyed Junmyeon too much already, he is still amazed the other hasn’t actually kicked him out of their room or stopped helping him learn stuff about reapers and souls. He doesn’t even miss his drugs.

He ends up rubbing his forearm where he put the last bit of methamphetamine to end his miserable life. It was no accident, it never was—he wishes he could tell the cop that, save the man from investigating his case. The detective is bound to dig up his entire history of substance abuse and even though he hated his parents, it would still upset them to know how their son turned out to be.

To distract himself, he asks, “So, who we collecting?”

“Kim Jongdae, university student,” Junmyeon says, but then he clicks his tongue, “Poor boy is only twenty.”

Yifan too frowns, “That’s so young. So, since we are here, I am guessing accident?”

“Yup,” Junmyeon pouts, and Yifan briefly glances at it, before he tears his gaze away and focuses on the four-way, already notorious for accidents. And then, a shrill scream, a tire screeching and the sound of breaking glass has both reapers look down at the road. Junmyeon puts the folder back in his bag and sighs, “Let’s go. I hope dead bodies don’t make you squeamish.”

Yifan shrugs, but says nothing as Junmyeon leaps, floats through the air before landing on the ground. At first Yifan thought reapers could fly, but Junmyeon was quick to tell him that they couldn’t fly, just were able to manipulate the air around them enough to lift them up and down. Yifan follows Junmyeon’s movement and they walk together to the centre where a truck and car have collided. Yifan grimaces when he sees the wrangled remains of a scooter crushed in between the two bigger vehicles. A small pool of blood tells him that the Kim Jongdae they are here for is most probably stuck in there.

Junmyeon clicks his tongue. “Nasty.”

Yifan sees one hand dangling, blood dripping down it as a bone pokes out of the wrist, and agrees, “Yeah. Death was instant, don’t you think?”

Junmyeon nods as he takes a glance around. He finally spots the student on top of the truck, looking down at his own dead body with his eyes widened. Junmyeon tugs at Yifan’s sleeves and leaps towards the truck; Yifan too spots the boy and follows.

Jongdae gets startled when he sees the two of them, but one look at their outfit tells him everything. “I am dead, aren’t I?”

Yifan crosses his arms grunts, “Well, you are basically the jelly in this sandwich, so I would say, yeah.”

Junmyeon whips around and smacks Yifan hard on the back of his head. The taller moans in pain as Junmyeon nearly screams, “Reaper Yifan! That is not how we behave!”

Jongdae, however, giggles. “That was kind of funny.” His smile drops when he looks back at his own destroyed body. “Guess, I don’t have to prepare for the finals anymore, huh.”

Junmyeon comes closer to Jongdae and asks, “Is there anything you want to do before we take you with us?”

Jongdae’s eyes mist over slightly as he nods. “There is.”

 

Yifan has found them the perfect seats, and even though he wouldn’t step inside this place if he was alive, he does think that getting a nice spot above the crowd is nice way to enjoy an annual summer festival. Junmyeon and Jongdae follow, and they sit down beside him and Jongdae vibrates in excitement. “You know, this is his first time singing solo! I promised him I would be there—in fact, that’s why I was hurrying.”

Junmyeon smiles. “It wasn’t your fault. Your file states that it was a technical mishap. The three lights on the intersection turned green at the same time, no one noticed.”

Jongdae nods. “So, it could have been anybody, eh?”

“Yup,” Yifan yawns. “And now we have to sit through this.”

Jongdae chuckles as Junmyeon hits Yifan again. The student says, “I take it you don’t like musicals.”

“Nah, never really developed a thing for the arts,” Yifan states as he leans back, preparing himself to be bored to death…a second time. Junmyeon grumbles something under his breath, which Yifan catches anyway. “Did you just call me an uncultured swine?”

Junmyeon’s nostrils flare as he tries to keep his composure. “Yes, yes I did.”

“Well, I wasn’t a complete swine, okay? More like a…tuxedo wearing pig.”

Jongdae snorts as Junmyeon fists his hands, trying not to hit Yifan, who looks too happy at Junmyeon’s annoyed expression.

The show starts, and after a choir, two duos and a dance group, Jongdae’s best friend, Kim Seokjin takes the stage. Yifan whistles when the light falls on him, “Holy shit, he’s gorgeous!”

Jongdae cries, “Yah! No making dead-googly eyes at my best friend!”

Junmyeon scoffs. “Don’t worry, he can’t, even if he tried.”

But Jongdae shushes them when Seokjin takes the microphone. “Hi, my name is Kim Seokjin and honestly, I don’t know what I am doing here. My best friend signed me up for this and made me practice, and just, oh lord, here we are. Even though he isn’t here yet, I hope he gets to see it—and by that, Jaehwan, you better be recording this. Anyway,” he chuckles, takes a deep breath and says, “Here we go.”

The man starts singing and Yifan actually shuts up and listens intently. The male doesn’t sound very polished, but his voice is clear, even beautiful and in a way, his singing carries through the auditorium and makes Yifan’s heart ache. He quickly glances beside him and sees Junmyeon staring down, his eyes actually glassy while Jongdae is crying. Yifan tears his gaze away from Seokjin and takes a good look at Jongdae’s face, and he swears he can see the heartbreak on it.

 _Maybe I, I can never fly_  
_I can’t fly like the flower petals over there_  
 _Or as though I have wings_  
 _Maybe I, I can’t touch the sky_  
 _Still, I want to stretch my hand out_  
 _I want to run,_  
 _Just a bit more_

As soon as the song ends, the crowd breaks into applause, some rising to their feet and Seokjin looks abashed underneath the spotlight when he sees the standing ovation. High up on the catwalk, Jongdae and Junmyeon too break out into applause, the latter saying, “Your friend is a wonderful singer!”

Jongdae grins as he scrubs his face, “I know right? He is wonderful, just…” but he never gets to finish his sentence as he starts crying all over again. His entire body shakes as he wails. Junmyeon wraps a hand around Jongdae’s shoulder and murmurs words of comfort, but Yifan has made a guess, so, in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, he asks, “Are you in love with him?”

Jongdae gasps as he turns his head to look at Yifan. “How…”

Yifan shrugs. “You looked happy when he was singing, but also in pain, like your heart just broke.”

Jongdae wipes his face again as he looks down at his hands. “I never got to tell him, I told myself I would tell him soon, but…I just kept delaying.”

Yifan crosses his arms and asks, “What if he didn’t feel the same?”

Junmyeon is about to reprimand Yifan again when Jongdae beats him to it, “I know, but I was ready for it. I would have been embarrassed but I would remain his friend, no matter what. But not telling or knowing would have killed me more. A single moment of embarrassment or a lifetime of regret?” Then he sighs, “But all I have now is regret.”

Junmyeon squeezes Jongdae’s shoulder and says, “I am sorry.”

Jongdae rubs his face. “No, it’s okay. I think I have started getting used to being dead I think. I just wanted to see him and hear his beautiful voice before I left.”

Junmyeon squeezes Jongdae’s shoulder again as he says to Yifan, “Open the portal.”

Yifan nods. He closes his eyes and taking a deep breath, says in a loud, clear voice, “Jiyong, we need to return.”

The hole opens up and Jongdae looks at it, his eyes wide in fear. Junmyeon comforts him, “Don’t worry. We aren’t taking you anywhere bad, trust us.”

Yifan gets to his feet and dusts his robes. Junmyeon and Jongdae follow, and before they step into the dark hole, Jongdae takes one last look at Seokjin’s face. He sighs, “He will always be the most beautiful person ever to me.”

 

The sun is setting over the reaper quarters and Yifan is standing by the window in his tank top and trousers, glaring into the sun. Junmyeon enters the room and notices the tension in Yifan’s muscles straightaway. He says, “What’s got you so bothered?”

Yifan turns around and says, “How come Jongdae was ready to confess when he wasn’t even sure how Seokjin felt?”

Junmyeon tilts his head to the side and asks, “Have you never been in love Yifan?”

Yifan shakes his head. “Love is a waste of time.”

“Really?” Junmyeon says as he sits down on his bed. He fluffs up his pillow as he says, “It isn’t a bad thing.”

Yifan scoffs, bitterly, “Oh really? I can’t believe it isn’t an awful thing.” He picks up a jacket and saunters towards the door. “Anyway, don’t wait up for me, I have a hot date to keep with Yongsun.”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes again as the door shuts behind Yifan. He groans a little as he covers himself with the blanket and tries to fall asleep.

 

**A few days later, and on another dimension**

Seokjin places the flowers on the fresh grave. He can’t help but feel like crying all over again. He thought his tears had dried up after crying himself to dehydration, but here they are again, prickling behind his eyelids. But, he has something very important to do before he leaves. He pulls a letter out of his pocket and places it under the flowers. He murmurs, “Kim Jongdae, how dare you leave me like this? I know you won’t read this letter, but just so you know, I love you, I love you so damn much and I hate how I never got around to telling you.”

A tear slips down his cheek anyway and Seokjin presses his palm to it. He chuckles, “You always did tell me I procrastinated too much.”

Seokjin slowly gets to his feet and closes his eyes as a gentle breeze blows through the graveyard. When he opens his eyes, all he sees is blue and he feels another wave of grief hitting him. He can’t help but fall to his knees again and cry at the grave of the man he loved.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, I know Jongdae's not Buddhist, but for the sake of fiction, every EXO member is

Yifan returns to their room and finds Junmyeon fast asleep; he half expected the other to be already awake and running. It is close to midday, and Yifan wonders just how sleeping works for reapers because he doesn’t really feel the need to sleep or eat, and he learnt that some reapers do have an appetite.

As he changes out of his clothes, he wonders if his lack of appetite and tiredness can be attributed to how he lived. He remembers being awake for thirty or forty hours straight when he would be tripping over a cocktail of drugs. Is that affecting him in his afterlife as well? He will have to ask Junmyeon when he wakes up.

He lies down on his bed and wonders what he should do next when they get a summon. It arrives through the open window, an envelope whooshing inside and startling Yifan quite a bit. He catches the piece of paper and reads the instructions. He quickly dresses himself and proceeds to shake Junmyeon up.

Junmyeon wakes up, slowly, and Yifan can’t help but smile at the way his cheeks are puffed up and the way he can hardly keep his eyes open due to sleep. Junmyeon sits up and rubs his eyes, “What do you want?”

Yifan waves the envelope in front of his face. “We have a soul to collect.”

“Ah, okay,” Junmyeon says as he yawns. He gets down from the bed and picks up his robes. Unlike Yifan, he changes in the bathroom.

When both are ready, they head up to floor 50, where they collect the folder from another employee. Junmyeon is still half asleep, and he knows he cannot descend on the mortal plane like this, so he puts a hand on Yifan’s forearm. “There’s somewhere I need to go before we collect this soul.”

“Okay?” Yifan is sort of wary, but he tampers down the urge to run his fingers through Junmyeon’s messy hair; the shorter didn’t even comb his hair, and it’s a good look, if you asked Yifan.

Junmyeon returns to the lift and presses for 30 B, and the lift moves sideways again, and Yifan feels like he just might throw up again. He asks, “Where are we going?”

“The astral plane,” Junmyeon replies.

Yifan frowns, “But aren’t we on the astral plane?”

Junmyeon sighs, still not awake enough for this conversation, but he tries, “No. We are in a pocket dimension in between the mortal and astral or immortal plane. We are the link between worlds, and we have access to both planes.”

“Ah, right,” Yifan nods. “Does that mean people from the mortal plane cannot cross over to the astral one and vice versa?”

Junmyeon nods as he crosses his arms and shuts his eyes, “Yes, you got it.”

“But why are we going there?”

“I need coffee.”

 

Yifan hums as he sips his coffee; he really didn’t need the stimulant, but he bought one anyway when Junmyeon got one from a coffee stall on the astral plane. To say the immortal plane was a sensory overload would be such an understatement. Yifan didn’t know where to look—every creature he ever thought mythical was freely roaming about the busy space and he swears he might have seen a real dragon.

They are currently in a hospice, and they run into another reaper who’s here for another soul. In the fifteen minutes they spent with the reaper, another shows up and the first one jokes how hospice are the official socialising venue for reapers. Yifan sees the sense in that. Also, he never knew sadness had a scent. It is sweet, but has slight tangy and bitter undertone to it, like biting into an orange peel.

Junmyeon is walking ahead of him, sipping his iced americano as he tries to locate room 503. When he finds it, the door’s already open and they slip inside. Junmyeon murmurs, “Zhang Yixing, thirty-five, leukaemia. He already has pneumonia and he is scheduled to have a stroke in an hour, which will kill him.”

Yifan moves closer to the bed and peers down at the man sleeping on the bed. As he observes how thin the man has become, Yifan wonders for a second if this is how he was going to look if he had lived for maybe another year. Yixing is basically one with the bed with how much muscle he has lost. Suddenly, there are footsteps and in walks a woman with two children in tow.

The woman says to the tallest child, “Jaehyun, don’t disturb daddy, okay?”

Jaehyun, whose eyes are red, and he looks like on the verge of crying again. “Do I, is this really goodbye mama?”

The woman swallows, trying to hold back her tears, “Yes, honey, I am so sorry.” She pulls Jaehyun to her chest and embraces him, and the child breaks down into fresh sobs. His brother, who looks no older than four is the tiniest bit confused, but he comes closer to wrap his arms around his mother’s legs. Junmyeon hates scenes like this, and he has been in a lot of them. He always leaves when family members arrive to say their farewell, and he is about to do so but stops when he sees Yifan gazing down at the three of them crying. Junmyeon can see the sadness in Yifan’s eyes—is he upset that no one mourned him?

A feeble voice from the bed calls, “Seungwan?”

The family rush to the bedside and the woman smiles through her tears as she cups his face and kisses his temple. “Hey there.”

“Are my little devils here?” Yixing asks, his voice raspy and Junmyeon can hear how hard his lungs are trying to work.

The two boys sit down on opposite sides of the bed—with their mother’s help—and pout down at him. Jaehyun says, “Mama says you are leaving us. Are you going to heaven?”

Yixing smiles as his eyes water, “I suppose I am.”

The youngest, perhaps, now understands the gravity of the situation and fat tears roll down his chubby face. “Baba, are you really going to become a star?”

Yixing tries to raise his arms, but he cannot, and his face twists in agony. “Chenle, my little baobei, when baba becomes a star, he will be able to watch over you better.”

“But Chenle doesn’t want baba to become a star!” Chenle starts wailing, and Junmyeon can’t stand it. He grabs the hem of Yifan’s sleeve and drags him outside.

Inside, the boys are curled against their father, having cried themselves to exhaustion, as Seungwan sits down as well, one hand laced with Yixing’s and the other patting, in turns, both her son’s back, who are quite as they feel their father breathing with much effort. Seungwan says, her voice gentle as she doesn’t try to wipe her tears, “I love you.” She brings their entwined hands to her lips and kisses his hand, “I will always love you.”

Yixing smiles, and Seungwan finds her heart tightening when the dimples she fell in love with shows up, but they are like craters on his hollowed cheeks. “You are still too young to mourn me forever my love.”

Seungwan’s face scrunches up. “I am—just no. You are the Peter to my Wendy, remember?”

“Except this Peter doesn’t get to live forever.”

Seungwan sobs, “Xing…I wish, I want—”

Yixing interrupts her, “It’s okay, so did I. But we can’t stop the inevitable. However, you need to promise me that you will take care of yourself and my boys, and that you will not remain mourning forever. You are too beautiful to remain single forever.”

Seungwan cannot help but chuckle through her tears. “Shut up. My type are definitely forgetful Chinese men with dimples, and I know they don’t make two pieces of them, so shush.”

Yixing grins; with his free hand he runs them through Chenle’s hair. “Don’t miss me too much, okay? I want all of you to be happy even when I am no longer there. Can you promise me Chenchen?”

Chenle pouts but he looks determined when he says, “I promise baba.”

Yixing smiles, obviously satisfied with the answer. “And Jaehyunnie? Take care of your eomma, okay?” Jaehyun remains silent but he nods his head.

 

Junmyeon looks down at his watch. “It’s time, come on.”

Yifan leaps down from the tree branch he was sitting on and follows Junmyeon inside, back to room 503. Nurses and a doctor are rushing about the room, and the Zhang family remains plastered to one corner, watching the scene unfold with wide, scared eyes. Yixing has had the stroke, and Junmyeon knows his soul will show up any second now, and after counting to fifteen seconds, a soft voice asks, “Uh, who are you guys?”

Yifan smiles and bows, “Reapers, here to escort you to afterlife.”

Yixing nods. “Ah, the clothes should have told me so.” A minute later, the Yixing on the bed flatlines and his wife and children break down into more tears. “I wish I could comfort them.”

Junmyeon shakes his head. “You really cannot do anything, you have already passed Yixing-sshi.

Yixing shrugs. “Figures. But can’t I do anything?”

Surprisingly, it is Yifan who comes with an idea, and when the other two hear it, Junmyeon is more shocked than Yixing.

 

Hours later, Yifan and Junmyeon are back on the astral plane, a bowl of roasted peanuts and two beer bottles in front of them. Junmyeon shoves a mouthful of nuts and chews slowly, as he looks at Yifan, who is looking at the dwarfish creature flitting about the establishment serving drinks and snacks. When Junmyeon has finished eating, he says, “You know, I never thought you of all people would suggest something like that.”

Yifan scoffs as he picks his drink up. “I was waiting for you to comment on it, took you long enough.”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “Listen, for someone who says love is awful, that was surprisingly sweet.”

Yifan takes a sip and he decides he likes astral beer. “Yeah, it is awful, but I could tell Yixing’s love for his family wasn’t a bad thing.” Junmyeon’s cocks his head to the side, waiting for Yifan to expand on that, which the latter does with a sigh. “Just because I don’t have a great experience with love, doesn’t mean others wouldn’t, right? I guess that’s what you tried to tell me yesterday, didn’t you? That love is love and people experience it differently?”

Junmyeon smiles, his lips lifting slowly, “Wow, you do have sensibilities, and here I thought you were just a robot.”

Yifan shrugs as he smiles, looking smug, “I try.” He takes another sip and asks, “So, what about you, do you believe in love?”

Junmyeon’s mouth drops minutely as his eyebrows rise slightly, but he just smiles and rubs his neck as he says, “I did, once upon a time…”

 

**A few days later, and on another dimension**

The funeral ended with zero hassles and Seungwan is tired. She sits down on her vanity and takes off her shoes. She massages the sole of her foot as she smiles down at the picture of her and Yixing on her vanity. The picture is probably a decade, or more, older. She remembers, it must have been there first anniversary and it was the first hiking trip they took together as a couple. It was an absolute mess: she twisted her ankle and he developed a cold. Yet, it was also fun and who knew making love under stars was that amazing?

Seungwan smiles even though she can feel the tears filling up her eyes as she picks up the picture frame. So young, they were so, so young. Her hair was a strange shade between red and brown and he had an undercut. They were both smiling and Seungwan feels her heart filling up with love at the dimples. Yixing knew how to get his way each time—he just had to smile.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blows through the room, and she is sure she had shut the window. She gets up from the stool and to her surprise, the windows are wide open and on the sill, is a single petal of a red rose. Her mouth drops when she realises what it is and picks it up gently as her tears flow freely down her cheeks. She murmurs, “Oh, Xing…”

At the ground below the window, Yifan asks, “It was a red rose, right?”

Junmyeon nods. “Yep, that’s what he gave her on their first anniversary.”

“Hmm, this is what he wanted.”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon says as he looks up and finds Seungwan smiling and crying at the little sign Yixing asked them to leave. “I am still surprised you suggested it.” Yifan was the one who told Yixing they can help him leave a sign for him when he passes over.

Yifan crosses his arms and narrows his eyes. “You gotta stop underestimating me dude, it’s mildly insulting.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, if you ever read this, thanks Changdeol, for making me like Yixing x Wendy SO MUCH

A few days later, Junmyeon and Yifan are strolling through the huge marketplace on the astral plane. Apparently, Yifan needed new socks. Their friendship has developed into something more than just annoying each other—which they still do—but Junmyeon now knows that Yifan is man of many layers, and even if he chooses to remain a reaper for a century, Junmyeon will never learn everything about the man. So far, Yifan has been predictably unpredictable; Junmyeon just cannot figure him out.

Junmyeon buys himself some fried squid on a stick as he waits for Yifan to decide between three pairs of white socks. Junmyeon nearly chokes on his snack when he hears Yifan say, “This isn’t Calvin Klein, but I suppose it will do.” He finally buys the pair with the most fuzz.

When he’s done, he notices Junmyeon’s snack and promptly snatches it, only to take a gigantic bite out of it. Junmyeon just clenches his fist and fumes; when he does get his snack back, there is only one mouthful left for him. Meanwhile Yifan mumbles, “That’s nice.”

“You could have bought one yourself,” Junmyeon grumbles as he finishes what’s left of his snack. He disposes the stick and asks, “What’s Calvin Klein? Some sort of a brand?”

Yifan halts, trying to tell himself he heard Junmyeon wrong. He puts a hand over his chest and narrows his eyes at Junmyeon, “You don’t know what Calvin Klein is?” When Junmyeon shakes his head, Yifan huffs, “Seriously? When did you die? In the 1940s?”

Junmyeon grins, “Close enough, just the next decade.”

“So, 1950s? When?”

Junmyeon rubs the back of his neck. “1958.”

Yifan whistles. “If you were alive, you could have been my grandfather.”

Junmyeon scowls, “And that’s why I deserve some respect you punk.”

“Wow,” Yifan smiles as the resume walking. “We are like entire generations apart.”

Junmyeon chuckles as he moves to the side to let a faerie pass. “In fact, we have a whole fifty-nine years of difference, you and I.”

Yifan grins. “Ah, you old, old man.” Junmyeon playfully swats at him, which he dodges. They keep walking till they find their favourite beer place. After they take their seats and place their orders, Yifan says, “It’s not fair that you know so much about me, and I know nothing about you.”

Junmyeon smiles, but Yifan can see the bitterness in it. “There’s nothing much to know. I was born in 1931, and raised in Korea, and I saw the war and the destruction that divided the country into two. When that didn’t kill me, something else did.”

Yifan would like to ask more questions, but they are interrupted when the imp who keeps the shop runs up to their table and hands them an envelope. Yifan takes it and when he reads the name of the place from where they are supposed to collect the soul, he scoffs, “Can’t believe I can’t get rid of this place even after death.”

Junmyeon simply frowns in confusion.

 

Yifan sits high on top of the wall as he watches another patron of the club rush out from the backdoor and puke their guts out in the alleyway. Junmyeon, who is perched right beside him, scrunches his face up in disgust. He mutters, “That, I definitely do not miss about being alive.”

Yifan chuckles as the door closes and the man returns to the dance floor, which at this time of the night will be crawling with people like him, looking for a high, cheap or expensive. Yifan remembers this place only too well. Raspberry Neon it’s called, and everyone in the know-how knew that this was the best place to get a fix and pick a hooker up. How they evaded authorities is baffling, but Yifan knows—he has saved them from the law way too many times. His payment was mostly cash and then some in kind, so he never complained.

Junmyeon swings his legs for a while before asking, with much hesitation, “So, this was your haunt, eh?”

Yifan nods, “Used to come here whenever I wanted to score.”

“Score drugs?”

“Yeah,” Yifan mumbles. Then he stares at Junmyeon’s side profile for a while, and he wonders again, not for the first time, but this time aloud, “I am surprised you never bombarded me with questions about my addiction. Yesung did, Yongsun did, and so did a few others.”

Junmyeon sighs. “I didn’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“Because once upon a time, I was the same as you.”

The revelation leaves Yifan reeling. Junmyeon honestly looks like the last person to do drugs, but then again, what did he know? “Really grandpa?”

Junmyeon chuckles, “The 50s were a time of drugs, and I won’t lie, I dabbled, like every youngster of that era. Hashish was a top favourite.”

Yifan laughs, “Ah plants, I never did plants.”

Junmyeon snorts. “Yeah, I can tell.”

The door whooshes open again, and two people step, heavily entwined and it doesn’t take long to figure out they are out here to make out. But Junmyeon peers closer and realises that one of the two men is actually their case. He points at the taller, blond man, “That’s our guy.”

Yifan too recognises the face from the folder, “Huang Zitao?”

“Yup, the very same.”

“He gets stabbed, doesn’t he? But he doesn’t look anywhere close to dying.” And Yifan hardly finished the sentence, before Zitao moans loudly. Yifan raises his eyebrows, “Okay, how long does this last?”

Junmyeon is amazed but disgusted at the scene in front of him. The two men are making out, cool, but they are literally standing in a puke-filled alleyway, how is that not bothering anyone? “I hope it doesn’t last too long. I mean, I think Zitao is only two feet away from the vomit pile.”

Yifan too scrunches his nose in disgust. “How old is he again?”

“Twenty-five?”

“That’s too old to be behaving like a hormonal teenager.”

“Agreed. And he is a bartender, shouldn’t he behave more professional?” Yifan nods in agreement.

And then Junmyeon and Yifan wait. They are focusing their attention elsewhere as the moaning keeps getting louder and louder. Junmyeon quietly curses under his breath when he hears a zip opening, meanwhile Yifan mumbles, “Really, here?”

Junmyeon braves a peek, and instantly regrets it. Zitao is currently on his knees, and the other man has his pants somewhere near his ankles. Junmyeon feels his face warm up due to embarrassment, and Yifan notices it. He looks over at Zitao, who’s definitely deepthroating, and then back at Junmyeon. He quietly asks, “Does that bother you grandpa?”

Junmyeon frowns. “No?” When he sees the unconvinced tilted eyebrow on Yifan’s face, his frown deepens, “Why did you just assume I have to be homophobic since I lived in the 50s?”

Yifan shrugs. “A lot of grandpas are, so I was just checking.”

Junmyeon clears his throat as he gently admits, “I, I had a boyfriend.”

Again, Yifan is taken aback by the revelation. He just manages a low, “Oh, okay.” He inhales deeply before asking, “Was it hard, being gay then?”

Junmyeon laughs, but it is bitter and hollow, “Oh, you have no idea. But I can’t say things are any better today now, are they?”

Yifan scoffs, “No, they aren’t, but I think it is more tolerable.”

Junmyeon, without thinking about it, touches his neck again. “I’d like to believe you on that.”

Yifan has noticed Junmyeon touching his neck and speaking in that strange faraway voice, like he found himself in retrograde. But before he can pry, a sharp scream drags them back to Zitao, who is now pressed to the wall with a knife lodged under his rib. The assailant twists the knife and pulls it out, and blood gushes everywhere, splattering on the man’s face and clothes. The other man is now screaming at the assailant, “What did you do Hakyeon!”

Hakyeon looks at the other man, a wild, confused look in his eyes. “I—I—oh my god…” He falls to a squat and clutches his head between his hands.

Yifan and Junmyeon float down to Zitao and watch the life slowly bleed out of his body. Zitao finally takes his last breath and falls to his side. As expected, his soul shows up, but unlike Jongdae and Yixing, Zitao shouts, “What the fuck?”

Yifan and Junmyeon are both terribly startled by it, but Junmyeon, with the more experience, reaches for Zitao and calmly says, “Hello, I am Junmyeon and this is Yifan, we are reapers, we are here to take you to your afterlife.”

“Afterlife?” Zitao asks, his slanted, cat-like eyes wide in disbelief. “I am not dead!”

“Uh,” Yifan crosses his arms and points at the body at his feet. “I would say the gaping hole in your body would say otherwise. And the pool of blood.” Yifan looks down at the crimson liquid around Zitao and mutters more to himself, “Wow, the human body does have a lot of blood, huh.”

Junmyeon hisses, having heard Yifan loud and clear, “Now is definitely not the time!”

Zitao flaps his hands and screams, “No! No!” And then, he turns around and runs down the alley.

Yifan makes a move but Junmyeon halts him with a shake of his head and deep, exasperated sigh. “It’s okay. We will find him with the tracker. Let him run, he probably needs time to process stuff.”

 

Zitao runs down the pavement, and when he almost crashes into a woman, he is shocked to see the way his body passes through her and she doesn’t even feel it. He stops running and screams, and again, he goes unnoticed. He looks down at his hands, they are still solid. He can’t be dead, this is a gross mistake. He finds an empty park and enters it, but his knees buckle, and he falls to the ground. As he puts his hands on the grass, he realises he cannot feel it. He cannot feel anything underneath his fingertips. Is he really dead?

All he wanted was to have a good time with Wonshik, the regular who would flirt with him all the time. How was he to know Wonshik had a jealous ex who would kill him? Zitao touches the place the knife entered him, and to his surprise, he doesn’t find any wound. He pulls up his shirt and sees nothing, just smooth, unhurt skin.

A soft voice says, “After death, bodies revert to their original state.” Zitao looks up and finds the shorter reaper smiling down at him, and for half a second, Zitao thinks he looks like an angel. The man extends a hand towards him and says, “You are starting to accept your demise, aren’t you?”

Zitao takes the hand and pulls himself to his feet. He mumbles, “I don’t know, I don’t know.”

“Is there anything you want to do before leaving?”

Zitao swallows as he nods. “There is one thing…”

 

Yifan feels slight discomfort being back in the country he abandoned nine years ago, even though he is in a different city. He watches the sea crash against the grey sand as Zitao and Junmyeon stand at some distance, watching an old man and woman slowly walking down the seashore. Zitao wanted to see his grandparents before leaving and as his tears flow down his cheeks, he says, “This is will be such a devastating blow for them.”

Junmyeon pats Zitao’s back as he says, “They will cope.”

Zitao rubs his face and inhales deeply, “Okay, I am ready to go.” Junmyeon requests Jiyong this time, and the three of them step inside the portal. Zitao has already been scheduled for a reincarnation in a hundred days’ time, so he is swiftly whisked away to Reincarnation Depot. Meanwhile, Yifan sneaks back to 50 A, where Jiyong smiles knowingly as his eyes gleam an unusual shade of green. Before Yifan can open his mouth, Jiyong speaks, “Guangzhou, right?” A portal opens and Yifan nods as he steps in it, bracing himself for disappointment.

Instead, what he finds is a silent house and someone crying in one of the rooms in the corridor he is now standing in. He has returned to his house after nine years and he notices that the wallpaper has changed. So has few of the decorations; he reckons he is on the first floor, where his room used to be. He walks down the carpeted corridor and finally locates his room, the door to which is ajar, and the crying sound is definitely coming from here.

Yifan pushes the door and he gasps when he sees his mother on his bed, clutching his jacket to her chest and crying into it. And his father is here too, his arms wrapped around her mother. Yifan’s heart lurches, this is the first time in twenty years he is seeing his parents together after the divorce. They both cheated on each other and they shared his custody, and Yifan resented them both. His happy childhood was ruined, and he was miserable as he was shuffled between them. That’s why, as soon as he turned eighteen, he left home. He wanted nothing to do with his parents anymore and a call every now and then kept everyone involved satisfied. That way, Yifan managed to keep his hedonistic, destructive lifestyle a secret.

However, he supposes his parents know now. As if on cue, his mother sobs, “He, why did he do this?”

His father clears his throat, “I don’t know…he never told us anything, remember?”

“It’s our fault, isn’t it? The cop said he was still alive when they found him.” His mother breaks into more sobs, and her entire body shakes. “Why did he want to destroy himself so bad?”

Yifan fists his hands. He wants to scream at them that he was like that because of them, because if they cared they would have noticed that he had started on this path when he was sixteen. The first time he encountered cocaine, he realised how easily he could forget who he was and what people expected from him. He never wanted to be a lawyer, and the only reason he agreed with his father all those years ago was to escape China, escape them.

He doesn’t wait to hear what his father has to say as he says, “Jiyong, take me back.” The portal opens, and he steps inside, not even sparing another glance at his mourning parents.

 

**A few days later, and on another dimension**

Wonshik watches Hakyeon and his heart clenches uncomfortably because he has reduced the other to this. Hakyeon has been here for a month and he already looks sick and tired. His usually glowing skin is ashy and Wonshik can see the small cuts he probably gave himself when shaving. The grey prison uniform just makes Hakyeon look more emaciated.

Hakyeon clears his throat and says, “You visited.”

Wonshik nods. “I couldn’t not have, right?”

Hakyeon gulps, “I am sorry for what I did.”

“I know Hakyeon, I know,” Wonshik sighs. “But…never mind.”

The guards take Hakyeon away after fifteen minutes and Wonshik slowly walks out of the prison. He shoves his hands in his pockets and not for the first time, he feels like the criminal instead. If only Hakyeon had come to him, talked to him, and if only Wonshik could have stopped Zitao from dying. In a way, this is his fault just as much as it is Hakyeon’s isn’t it? Zitao never deserved to get caught in the mess they created, never.


	5. Chapter 5

Junmyeon didn’t miss Yifan slinking away as he escorted Zitao to the Depot. Really, does Yifan take him for an idiot? However, by the time he sits down at the lounge area on the quarter floor, Yifan shows up, more like storms in. He spots Junmyeon and marches up to him, and takes the seat opposite Junmyeon. Before Junmyeon can inquire about Yifan’s condition, the other provides an answer, “I went to see my parents.”

Junmyeon manages not to show his surprise. He only mutters, “Oh.”

Yifan twists his fingers in his lap as he bows his head. “They looked sad.”

“Well, they lost their son, isn’t that granted?” Junmyeon treads carefully; he doesn’t want to trigger Yifan in any way.

Yifan grunts, and his voice is dripping with sarcasm as he says, “If you knew them, you would not believe it as well.”

Junmyeon frowns; Yifan has worked himself into a bad mood, and he doesn’t like it. Sure, the taller man is annoying most of the time, but Junmyeon realises he doesn’t like this look on him. He gets to his feet and grabs Yifan’s wrists. The other widens his eyes slightly as if in askance about Junmyeon’s mental health, but Junmyeon doesn’t pay any attention as he drags Yifan to his feet. He smiles, “I want to show you something! Come on!”

Yifan has questions but they get lost on his tongue when he looks down at Junmyeon beaming up at him. His mentor is seriously too cute for him to handle at times. He feels warm under his collar but nods to show he is willing to go. And that’s all Junmyeon needs as his smile widens and his eyes all but disappear in happiness.

Then, they head to the elevators and Junmyeon is almost vibrating in excitement. “When I learned that I can visit other pocket dimensions, I was so excited. I am taking you to one of my favourite dimensions out there.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon’s excitement is infectious and soon enough, Yifan finds himself smiling.

The doors open at the twentieth floor, and Junmyeon’s face pales when a woman walks in, who looks equally taken aback to see him. Yifan doesn’t miss the tension between them, and the odd silence that fills the space. His eyes constantly flick between the woman, who’s rather gorgeous, and Junmyeon, wondering whatever in all the dimensions was going on.

Thankfully, the woman gets down on the thirtieth floor, and Junmyeon sags in relief. Yifan asks, “Uh, who was she?”

Junmyeon re-presses the button for floor seventy as he replies, “My ex-girlfriend.”

Yifan frowns, “Wait, weren’t you gay?”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “Did you forget I am from 1958, when being gay was not really anyone openly talked about?”

“Ah, right, my apologies.” Yifan crosses his arms as he smirks down at Junmyeon, “So, let me guess, you broke up with her, or no, no, she dumped you when your gayness couldn’t be held back anymore?”

Junmyeon coughs as his cheeks darken, “I, uh, well, she caught me making out with her friend, who was a guy and well, I don’t know who dumped who, but there was a lot of screaming.”

Yifan howls in laughter and thumps Junmyeon’s back so hard, the latter nearly falls to the floor. “Oh man holy shit, of course she hates you!”

Junmyeon inches away from Yifan as he presses his lips together, “No shit Sherlock.”

They finally get to their floor and Junmyeon is the first one out of the elevator; Yifan follows and he cannot help when he reads the plaque hanging over his head. “Immigration? What?”

Junmyeon chuckles. “More like an airport, instead of planes, we have portals!”

His confusion only increases. “Oh, okay?”

Yifan doesn’t ask any more questions as Junmyeon opens a door and the sheer size of the room sprawling in front of him has his jaw almost hitting the floor. He can’t see the end of the room, it literally goes on forever. The floors are white marble and there are cubicles after cubicles, as far as the eye can see, and a great mix of reapers from every race and creatures are teeming all across the space. Yifan whispers, completely awed, “What is this place?”

“Portal port. Every country has a pocket dimensions where supernatural creatures can live without human intervention, and humans can’t see them, or access them, so there have been exceptions, but that’s a story for another day.” Junmyeon cranes his neck, searching for something. “But right now, we need to head for cubicles that start with I.”

A man on a golf cart halts in front of them with a cheerful, “Hello there Reaper Junmyeon! Haven’t seen you here for a while!”

Junmyeon grins, “Hello Jaebum, I have been busy.” He gestures at Yifan, “I have a protégé to train now.”

Jaebum smiles at Yifan, “Hi, Jaebum.”

Yifan takes the hand offered to him. “Yifan.”

“So,” Jaebum says. “Where to?”

Junmyeon gets on the cart and Yifan follows as the former says, “Ireland cube please.”

The cart driver zooms off and Yifan tries to read every cubicle’s name, but they are travelling at a great speed and before Yifan can finish reading Afghanistan, the cart is already in front of Ireland. They hop down the cart, and Junmyeon bids Jaebum a thank you and farewell. There isn’t much of a line in front of Ireland, so Yifan groans, “I don’t understand!”

Junmyeon chuckles, “This one space in Afterlife Inc. is shared by every branch over countries. Every Inc. at every location has their seventieth floor linked.”

That explains one thing, but Yifan still feels like he is in the dark. “Oh, okay.”

They are the front now and a woman with blinding orange hair chirps up, “Two tickets to Lone Bush?”

“Yep,” Junmyeon says as he plants two gold coins on the table. Yifan frowns down at them, where the fuck did those come from?

She takes the money and points at the curtain behind her after she hands them two tickets. Yifan pockets them as he follows Junmyeon and like expected, there is a gaping dark hole behind the curtain. Junmyeon grins up at him, “Ready?”

Yifan shakes his head, “Yeah, yeah.”

Junmyeon steps in first and Yifan follows. The same gut-wrenching feeling is present, but in a lesser degree and Yifan would say it was more of a tickling sensation than a stabbing one. They step out of the portal and Yifan forgets to formulate words when he lands in Lone Bush.

They are on a sweeping meadow, dotted by mounds, all built in concentric circles around one giant, ancient willow tree. But what knocks his breath out is the presence of hundreds and hundreds of fairies bustling around, their wings every colour of the rainbow. He murmurs, “Wow.”

Junmyeon smiles as he says, “The tickets?” Yifan blindly reaches inside his pocket and hands him the tickets. Junmyeon gives them to the man standing at the till they are standing on. After that is done, Junmyeon walks down the hill, and Yifan scrambles forward to follow, still trying to grasp what he was seeing. This was incredible, and Yifan wants to see every little thing, but Junmyeon obviously has plans, so he follows.

They are at the foot of the mound and Junmyeon points at the willow. “Elves live on that tree, and every evening they put up a show, and trust me, even you will like it!”

Yifan nods; he is prepared to take Junmyeon’s word for it. They walk through the mounds and some fairies greet them, which Junmyeon returns with zero hesitation as Yifan still tries to convince himself he isn’t hallucinating and there are in fact, humanoid people with luminescent wings flitting about the place.

They reach the centre and there is a paved seating area and Junmyeon drags Yifan down to a seat closest to the tree. Yifan doesn’t know what to expect, but a few minutes later, a dozen or more ethereal creatures come down from the tree, and their lithe bodies are so graceful and their facial features so delicate, that Yifan is already entranced.

Soon, soft, lilting music starts flowing and strange orbs light brighten the area and the creatures with pointy ears and shimmering skin start to sing. Yifan’s eyes widen as the music filters through his brain, it is beautiful. He doesn’t know what language they are speaking in, but he doesn’t care as it caresses over his skin and seeps into his heart, making it thump loudly, in tune with the gentle hammering of the drums.

They twist their bodies and their silken hair gleam under the golden light of the orbs, and Yifan cannot look away. Junmyeon, however, has seen this a few times before, so he isn’t that enchanted (he still loves it) and he turns to look at Yifan, who looks stunned and Junmyeon smiles. He taps Yifan’s hand and whispers, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Yifan just nods his head, his tongue too tied. Junmyeon smiles as he turns his attention back to the performance. It continues for an hour, and when the performers conclude, gentle applause breaks across the place. Yifan too claps, still awed and kind of humbled by it all. He turns to Junmyeon and grabs his hand. He squeezes Junmyeon’s hand and says, his voice tight with emotion, “Thanks for bringing me here.”

Junmyeon puts his other hand over Yifan’s and shakes his head, his smile soft, “Not a problem.”

Yifan can feel tears prickling the back of his eyes for some reason and Junmyeon’s kind, deep brown eyes reflect the golden light and Yifan forgets to breathe for a second. He swallows and maybe Junmyeon understands because he raises his hand and cups the side of Yifan’s face and whispers, “It’s okay.”

That leads to Yifan’s undoing as he lets the tears he has been withholding since he died flow down his cheeks. He shuts his eyes as tears flow down his face, and then he shudders as he feels the weight of his pain crash on him. He feels hands around his shoulder and he feels his head being pressed against a shoulder, and the body is warm and smells nice and his tears flow more freely.

Junmyeon sighs as he places Yifan’s head on his shoulder. He feels the wetness seep through his hanbok and he just keeps holding Yifan in his arms as the latter shakes uncontrollably and hiccups into his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t offer any words of comfort because he knows that is not what Yifan needs. So, he doesn’t try to be sympathetic, or even show any pity. He just allows Yifan be and tries to soothe his broken soul by just holding him close and rubbing his back.

After a few minutes, Yifan feels exhausted and the tears stop. He presses his nose under Junmyeon’s jaw and inhales deeply, filling his lungs with the fresh, comforting scent of the other. He murmurs, “Thank you.”

He feels Junmyeon running his fingers through his hair as he whispers back, “Never a problem.” His lips brush against Yifan’s ear, and the latter feels his heart skip a beat.

 

Two days pass since the night in Lone Bush and both refuse to talk about what happened. Yifan hates being weak and Junmyeon isn’t sure why he what he did, so they keep pretending Yifan didn’t have a meltdown in Junmyeon’s arms (and how he now likes how Junmyeon smells like) and Junmyeon pretends that he didn’t like how Yifan felt embraced close to him, his mouth pressed against his neck. A summon came for them in the afternoon and now they are standing under the harsh sunlight on an island close to Australia. Some other reapers from other countries are here as well, and Yifan is chatting with a Canadian one.

An airplane from New Zealand is scheduled to crash on this island and since it carries passengers from a few different countries, reapers from various countries are here as well. Yifan and Junmyeon are here for the sole Korean passenger named Oh Sehun.

It takes another hour, but soon there is a loud whirring noise and a huge aircraft nosedives into the rocky shoreline of the beach and instantly goes up in flame. From the roster each reaper has, they have concluded that out of a hundred passengers, only ten survive. The reapers all move together towards the inferno and the many souls that have passed show up in various stages of confusion and panic. It takes some time but Yifan and Junmyeon manage to locate Oh Sehun, who is seated on a rock, his hands on his head as he stares blankly at his own dead body, half of his face burned. Junmyeon gently speaks, careful not to startle him, “Oh Sehun?”

Sehun looks up and his gaze is calm, as if he knows why the two men in the black hanbok are here. He asks, “You here to take me away?”

Both Yifan and Junmyeon nod their heads in tandem. Sehun gets to his feet and dusts his pants, even though he didn’t need to. He asks, “They will find my body, won’t they?”

Junmyeon doesn’t know about that, but he tries to assure the dead anyway, “I am sure they will. The island isn’t too far from the main coast.”

Sehun nods. “Yeah, I suppose they will find me quickly. My family would need a body to bury.”

Yifan and Junmyeon share a look, and the latter jerks his head, his eyes sending the nonverbal communication loud and clear. Yifan sighs, this would be his first time, and he sounds a little bored as he asks, “Is there anything you would like to do, one last time, before we whisk you away?”

Junmyeon grits his teeth, that was so impolite. But Sehun doesn’t notice it as his eyes widen with hope. He tentatively asks, “I can? I do have one thing I want to do.”

Junmyeon and Yifan take Sehun to a high-rise in Seoul, and they enter a bedroom through the balcony. On the bed lies a woman fast asleep, and Sehun makes a beeline for her. He sits on the edge and smiles down at her. He says, “This is my fiancé, Jennie, we were going to get married in three or four months. I just proposed to her a week ago.” He tries to touch her, but sighs when his fingers pass through her face. He doesn’t look too disappointed though, as he stands up and looks at the reapers, patiently waiting for him. “I am ready to go.”

Jiyong heeds Yifan’s request and the portal opens. Sehun raises an eyebrow at it, but doesn’t ask any questions as he silently follows them through it.

 

**A few weeks later, and on another dimension**

The funeral is at the Oh’s residence and Jennie feels dizzy and slightly nauseous. But she can’t let her almost mother-in-law do everything on her own, so she bites back the bile rising up her oesophagus and concentrates on serving the guests. She can hear the low murmurs of pity for her and she wants to scream at them. She doesn’t need their pity, she just wants her Sehunnie back…

Her vision turns black for a second and she pauses, tray in hand as she takes a few deep breaths. Suddenly, she feels a hand around her elbow and when she opens her eyes, she sees it’s Sehun’s mother, Jinkyung, blinking at her, eyes creased in concern. She says, “If you don’t feel well, you should rest. I have been watching you, are you sick?”

Jennie can’t take it anymore and wheezes, “I really need to go to bathroom eommonie.”

The older woman nods and takes the tray away from her. She beckons a cousin over to take her place and quickly whisks Jennie away. As soon as the door closes, Jennie heaves over the commode and throws up liquids. Jinkyung holds back the stray strands of hair back and gently rubs her back. Her voice is gentle and calm as she asks, “You are pregnant, aren’t you?”

Jennie’s eyes widen as she looks at Jinkyung. “How…”

Jinkyung smiles, kindly, “I can see the bump, even though you have hidden it very well under the dress you are wearing.”

Jennie’s eyes well up as she says, “I am eommonie, I didn’t get to tell him you know.” The tears run down her cheeks as she gasps, “I got to know two days after he left. I wanted to surprise him when he returned.”

Jinkyung caresses Jennie’s hair as she smiles, her own eyes wet, “He would have been so very happy to know.”

Jennie chuckles as she wipes her mouth. “He would have freaked out, but I know he would have went out and gotten a crib the next day.”

Jinkyung too laughs along, “Yes, he would have.”

The women share a look and in the next moment, Jinkyung has pulled Jennie in her arms. She says, “And now, we need to survive, both of us, for him and for the one who’s coming Jennie.”

Jennie shuts her eyes as more tears run down her face. “I know, I know. I wanted to end it all eommonie when they told me about the crash.”

Jinkyung quietly confesses, “So did I dear, so did I.”

Jennie gasps and pulls back. She puts her hands on the older woman’s shoulder and shakes her head, and tries to smile. She puts one hand over the small bump on her abdomen and says, “But we can’t, and I need you.”

Jinkyung just nods and smiles as she pulls back Jennie to embrace her tightly. Sehun, her child, is gone, but now, she knows she has to live for his child.


	6. Chapter 6

“Sehun was really easy, huh?” Yifan asks a few days later. The two reapers are back on the astral plane again, this time atop a tall building, watching the sun set and watching the crowd bustling below their feet.

Junmyeon bites into another squid stick, and between them, they have already demolished seven sticks. Yifan looks at him from the corner of his eyes and an odd fluttery sensation lodges in his chest when he sees the bright golden light reflected off Junmyeon’s face. Yifan has come to accept that his mentor is not only cute, but also distractingly beautiful.

Junmyeon finishes the mouthful of food and says, “I think, he had already accepted his end by the time the plane crashed? They warn you inside planes, right? If they were to crash?” When Yifan nods, a little uncertain, Junmyeon continues, “Then, he had enough time to accept he was going to die.”

Yifan nods. “That makes sense.”

“You too, you know,” Junmyeon mutters. “You were ready to leave too.”

“Yeah, I was ready before I was ready to come here,” Yifan scoffs. “Are all suicide victims as easy as me?”

Junmyeon thinks for a while, before nodding his head. “Yeah, sometimes they are surprised, but mostly they accept their fate.”

“Hmm.” Yifan finishes his stick, and there is a long pause of silence before he asks the one question he had wanted to ask for the longest time, “How did you die?”

Junmyeon’s hand reach up to touch his neck again. But he doesn’t answer Yifan’s question, instead he poses one himself, “Do you know why reapers are made?”

Yifan frowns, “That’s wha—”

Junmyeon turns to look directly at Yifan, and his gaze is unusually hard, it terrifies Yifan a little. “Deaths, especially violent ones with deep emotional impacts can lead souls astray, and even their reincarnation gets jeopardised. You were a special case, and that’s why you were made a reaper. If you were set free, or reincarnated too quickly, you would, in the first instance, end up as a vengeful spirit, and in the second case, a terrible human being. The soul is forever corrupted, and only a certain amount of repentance can cleanse it.”

Yifan’s breath quickens. “I, so all the reapers, they are all souls who got corrupted?” When Junmyeon nods, Yifan cannot help but ask, “What happened to you?”

“I was murdered.”

Yifan gasps, and he can feel his heart racing. Junmyeon looks away, his jaw clenched as he shuts his eyes. Yifan doesn’t know how to react or what to say, so he simply places his hand on top of Junmyeon’s.

The touch startles him, but Junmyeon accepts the miniscule effort of comfort the other was trying to give. He looks down at Yifan’s abnormally large hand covering his hand and he smiles. He looks up at the man beside him, and his smile softens when he finds Yifan pouting at him. He asks, “What?”

Yifan shakes his head. “I don’t understand…you are the nicest person I have ever met, why would anyone want to kill you?”

Junmyeon chuckles, a tad bitterly, but his heart swells at Yifan’s words. “Well, shit happens.”

Yifan would have liked more details, but then a fairy flies up to them, a summon envelope in hand. Junmyeon takes it and thanks the creature before sighing, “Back to work.”

 

Ever since Junmyeon read the name on the folder, he has fallen into a dark mood and Yifan can’t understand why. Though he has made a safe guess. Their new case is a man named Kim Jongin, aged eighty-three, just three years younger than what would have been Junmyeon’s age if he was alive.

They enter the hospice and Yifan checks the time. They still have ten minutes before Jongin would cease living, so Yifan asks, “Do you know him?”

Junmyeon crosses his arms and replies, “He was my murderer’s cousin.”

Yifan is taken aback and he looks back at the old, frail man on the bed. But Junmyeon doesn’t elaborate, he just glares down at the man on the bed and his mood is so dark, Yifan is afraid to even annoy him with his usual inane humour.

The ten minutes pass achingly slow in silence, but Jongin suffers a stroke and the doctor rushes in with a nurse. Jongin flatlines and as expected his soul appears, and Yifan is startled when he appears right beside him and the first thing he says is, “Junmyeon hyung?”

Junmyeon, who has joined Yifan when Jongin flatlined, grits his teeth as he says, “Hello, I am surprised you remember me.”

Yifan, though, is shocked to see a younger Jongin in front of him. The wrinkles have given to smooth, tan skin and he has a head full of hair. Jongin says, “Hyung, how could I forget? But what are you doing here?”

Junmyeon inhales deeply. “I am a reaper.”

Jongin’s lips lift up in a lopsided, apologetic smile. “Always knew I would meet you somewhere after death.”

Junmyeon scoffs, and his voice is dripping in venom when he bites out, “Is that your way of reducing your guilt? I saw you, I saw you there that day and I also saw you lie in court!”

Jongin ducks his head, his face aflame in shame. “I didn’t want to help Himchan hyung. He threatened me!”

Junmyeon laughs, and it is harsh, devoid of the pleasantness Yifan has become used to, and he has never seen Junmyeon like this, it worries him. “And you called _me_ your favourite hyung? That is how you repaid me after all I did for you?” When Jongin has no answer for that, Junmyeon turns to Yifan and says, “You take him back, I have to leave.” With that Junmyeon walks out of the room.

Yifan rubs the back of his neck as he asks, “Uh, is there anything you want to do before I take you away?”

Jongin shakes his head. “I wanted to see Junmyeon hyung and apologise, but I guess that’s done for now.”

Yifan gulps. “Maybe a letter will be better?” Jongin nods. “Okay, then, Jiyong we are ready.”

 

_“Himchan? Why did you call me here? Is everything okay?” Junmyeon asks his lover, who had called him here in this empty construction site of all places._

_Himchan tucks his hands in his jacket pocket as he kicks at the rubble under his feet. Junmyeon inches closer, he doesn’t understand why Himchan is behaving like this, but he wants to help. He puts a hand on Himchan’s shoulder and asks, “Hey, are you okay?”_

_Himchan looks up and there is a deep frown on his face. Suddenly, he cups Junmyeon chin and pulls him close for a kiss, and Junmyeon is taken aback because it has nothing of the tenderness that Himchan’s kisses usually possess. He doesn’t respond, but pulls himself back and gasps, “What is it Himchan?”_

_Himchan whispers, “Father has arranged my marriage, Junmyeon.”_

_Junmyeon’s eyes widen as his heart drops to the floor. He stumbles back as he says, “That, but…” He knew this day was coming, but Himchan had said he wouldn’t say yes, that he would leave with him. however, Himchan says nothing about that, just blinks at Junmyeon, and not for the first time, Junmyeon hates how unaccepting the society he lives in is._

_Himchan moves closer and grabs his shoulder as he says, “I love you Myeonie, I do. But I cannot say no to my father.”_

_Junmyeon can feel angry tears prickling behind his eyelids. “Right, after all,” he says, his voice tight with anger as he eventually understands, “He would cut you from all his money if you did leave with me.” Himchan sighs; they had had this conversation a hundred times before and each time, it ends with shouts and tears. Junmyeon brushes his hands off his shoulder and says, “But that’s not it, is it? You want something from me.”_

_Himchan gazes directly at him as he nods. “Yes, I want you to leave.” When Junmyeon opens his mouth to question, he raises a hand. “I can’t let anyone know about us and use our affair to blackmail me or my family. You understand, don’t you? I will pay as much as you want to leave Seoul forever.”_

_Junmyeon takes a step back as he reels at the words spewing out from Himchan’s mouth. A hot tear rolls down his cheek as he finally sees what Himchan truly is. He never mattered in front of Himchan’s father’s massive business, did he? He whispers, “And what if I refuse to leave my home?”_

_Suddenly, Himchan’s face darkens as he inches closer to Junmyeon, who for some reason, is unable to move despite the slow trickle of fear crawling down his spine. Himchan’s voice is low and dangerous when he says, “Then, you leave me with no choice.”_

_Before Junmyeon can react, Himchan grabs him by the nape and tilts his head back by tugging his hair harshly. Junmyeon yelps in pain but then to his surprise, he finds something cold and metallic pressing into his throat. He quickly realises it is a knife and Himchan plans to murder him. He can’t believe it, he just can’t, and he whimpers, “Himchan, no, please.”_

_Junmyeon sees a shadow move behind Himchan but before he can scream for help, Himchan chills his blood when he says, “Oh sweetie, I loved you too, you know, but yes, I do love my father’s money, and the money my bride will bring, more.” And then, the knife slices through his skin, and Junmyeon only knows pain before blood gushes out of his neck. When Himchan releases him, he crumples to the floor, but he recognises the shadow before he dies._

Junmyeon wipes the tears off his face and rubs over the area that should have a gaping wound on his neck. The man who Junmyeon gave his all to was the one who took his life—there is some poetic irony in there somewhere. He knew that was Jongin that day, and he doesn’t know why he was there, but he did see the other smoothly lying in court when the prosecutor asked if he and his cousin were in Gimpo when the murder was committed. Crimes before the age of security cameras were easy for murderers to escape. But Himchan couldn’t escape punishment forever.

Junmyeon later, much, much later, learnt that a year later, someone discovered that Himchan and he were lovers, and when the investigation reopened, Himchan’s was convicted. Apparently, an anonymous source tipped the cops about their affair and Himchan crumbled under pressure.

Junmyeon takes a deep breath and wraps his arms around his body. His visions swims with tears again as he thinks about how the one he loved betrayed him. Then, he gasps when a pair of arms wind around him and he is pulled back into a firm, warm chest. He doesn’t have to look back to know it is Yifan.

The taller rests his chin on top of Junmyeon’s head and says, “So, Jongin is safe in the Depot and his last wish was to leave you a letter.” Junmyeon looks down and sure enough, there is a sheet of paper folded in half dangling from Yifan’s fingers. He takes it and opens it; he feels Yifan about to leave, so he stops him, “Wait, I don’t mind if you read with me.” No but really, he just wants to be held like this by Yifan a bit longer.

Junmyeon opens the letter and under the low light of the streetlamp, he reads the words Jongin wanted to say and he couldn’t find it in himself to hear.

_Dear hyung,_

_I know you are mad, and you should be. I witnessed your_   
_murder and I lied in court to save my skin. And I shouldn’t_   
_have, and I hated myself so much. But a man who has_   
_killed once is suddenly fearless and he threatened_   
_Soojung and our unborn child, and I couldn’t do it,_   
_couldn’t tell the cops the truth. But almost a year_   
_later, Soojung got to know and if she hadn’t given_   
_me the courage, I wouldn’t have been able to_   
_send the detective the anonymous letter. I know_   
_I was late, but I’d like to think I tried. Please_   
_forgive me._

_Love,_

_Your one and only,_

_Nini_

It is good thing Yifan was holding him up because when Junmyeon finishes reading, his knees feel weak as he cries and cries. He presses the letter to his chest as Yifan tightens his hands around him, tucking his head on his shoulder and says nothing. He finally finds the peace he had been seeking for the last six decades.

 

**Many decades ago, and on another dimension**

Jongin couldn’t take it anymore; each day he had to go to work and face Himchan and every time he was reminded of the cruel way his Junmyeon hyung had to die, and he loathed himself. To forget the mistake he made, he took to drinking. One night, he returns home drunk and Soojung, who had been waiting up for him, is ready to reprimand him when suddenly, he falls to her feet and starts crying.

Soojung is taken aback; Jongin has returned home drunk three times this week, but he usually is a quiet drunk. He has never done anything like this. For fear of their daughter waking up, Soojung drags Jongin to his feet and pulls him to the balcony, where she cups his face and asks, in a gentle tone, “What is it? Why are you crying?”

Jongin whimpers, “Junmyeonie hyung, he, I—” He hiccups violently, unable to finish his sentence. Soojung quickly gathers him in her arms and rubs his back. She knows, she adored Junmyeon oppa too, but Jongin was basically raised by the man. They were neighbours and Junmyeon would babysit Jongin and he is the sole reason why Jongin even passed all his exams in school (and later in college as well).

She comforts him, “Shush, it’s okay, I know.”

Jongin wrenches himself off her and violently pants. “No! You don’t!” His eyes are wild and red as he shouts, “I was there when Himchan hyung killed Junmyeon hyung!”

The sudden admission shocks Soojung deeply, and for a few moments, she is unable to say anything. But she reaches for Jongin and placing her hands on his forearms, asks, “Jongin, what are you talking about?”

Jongin starts sobbing again as he tells her everything, how Himchan and Junmyeon oppa were lovers and how Jongin had followed Himchan that day and ended up witnessing the murder. He eventually calms down and passes out, but as Jongin lay knocked out in his wife’s arms, Soojung makes up her mind.

She cannot let Himchan remain free of the heinous crime he committed, and she refuses to see her husband punish himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Yesung opens the door before Junmyeon could even knock. Yesung smiles kindly at him as he ushers Junmyeon inside. Junmyeon knew this call from the Head Reaper was going to come sooner or later.

Yesung ensures he is seated before taking his own seat at the other end of the desk. The older reaper opens a file on his desk and reads from it, “Status of reaper given till Kim Junmyeon fulfils his soul objective.” Then, he raises his head to regard Junmyeon and continue, “And your soul wanted to know that your death wasn’t in vain, and that someone cared. Apparently, new soul Kim Jongin did. Thus, your objective has been fulfilled, do you wish to be reincarnated or sent to eternal rest?”

Junmyeon takes a deep, shaky breath at that question. For sixty years he had collected souls because in the very beginning, he was promised he would be free if his soul objective was fulfilled, which now has. However, there is now one tiny hurdle, and this hurdle is merely six feet and two inches tall and has a very alluring, charming smile, and a strange, crooked personality that was equally alluring. He replies, “Sir, I still need to finish training Yifan.”

“Ah, right, but he can be passed on to someone else,” Yesung suggests.

Junmyeon bites back his gasp and shakes his head. “Oh no sir, he is very volatile and kind of dumb, I am the only one who can do it.”

Yesung frowns, “Are you sure you want to give up this offer for Reaper Yifan’s training?”

Junmyeon doesn’t even hesitate for a beat. “Yes.”

Yesung raises an eyebrow and leans back in his seat. Junmyeon almost sags in his; truth to be told, ever since Yifan arrived, he cannot deny that his afterlife had become more interesting, more colourful. He hadn’t had a friend like Yifan in ages, and he enjoyed his company, despite the jokes. Yifan doesn’t grab his butt anymore, but Junmyeon feels his cheeks burning when he remembers how close Yifan held him that day, and how nice _that_ felt.

Yesung finally speaks, “Well, we still have seven more months. If the training is successfully completed, we will meet again to discuss your future, alright?”

That is all that Junmyeon needed to hear, so he springs up from his seat, takes a bow and mutters a quick “Thank you” before nearly skipping away from the office.

He rushes back to his room and finds Yifan on his bed, reading a book. Junmyeon just pants for a while as he watches his roommate, totally engrossed in whatever he was reading. He wonders if he should tell Yifan about his meeting with Yesung. He shucks his jacket off and plops down on Yifan’s bed, who finally notices the other’s presence. He puts the book down and smiles, “Hello, how did the meeting go?”

Junmyeon turns his head to look at him, and the conflict in them alarms Yifan, who instantly sits up and asks, “What is it? What happened?”

Junmyeon swallows and decides to go with the truth. He folds his legs and faces Yifan, whose worried frown makes his heart lurch, so he trains his gaze on the bedsheet. He picks at the lint and says, “Did I ever tell you about soul objectives?”

Yifan shakes his head. “No, what is it?”

“When I died, I was angry, mad, revengeful. And the reaper who bought me here was scared I would turn into a restless spirit right then and there. I was taken to Yesung right away and when he saw my file, he saw that my soul was restless, and it would take a long time for it to find any peace. So, reincarnation or eternal rest was impossible for me till my soul got what it wanted. I was made into a reaper right away and my training began.

“Then, as I slowly remembered more details about my death, Yesung told me what my soul objective was. My soul wanted Jongin to admit his crime of lying, and now that Jongin is dead, and I know the truth, my soul objective has been fulfilled.”

Silence descends on them as Junmyeon stops and keeps picking at threads and Yifan processes all that he heard. When he realises what Junmyeon is trying to tell him, he grabs the latter’s wrists and asks, his voice shaking, “Are you leaving me?”

Junmyeon shakes his head. “I still have to finish training you.”

Yifan swallows. “What happens next? When you do finish training me?”

Junmyeon finally looks up, and he is taken aback by the fear in Yifan’s eyes. “I get to move on.”

Yifan’s grips around Junmyeon’s wrists goes lax and his frown deepens. Yifan bows his head and sighs, “Everyone leaves me, don’t they…”

The words stab like a knife into Junmyeon’s heart and he wants to refute Yifan, but he cannot, he doesn’t know what happens next, yet he whispers, “I am not leaving you, I don’t want to.”

Yifan tightens his hold again and says, his voice firm, “Then, don’t.”

Their gazes lock and it knocks Junmyeon’s breath away, at the intensity rolling out from Yifan. He means what he says, and Junmyeon doesn’t know how to respond. He opens his mouth a few times, but the right words never come out. And his words get more tangled when Yifan raises a hand to cup his face. His thumb draws slow, gentle circles on Junmyeon’s cheekbone and says, “I don’t want to lose my only friend. Please stay.” The softness in Yifan’s gaze further makes Junmyeon feel lost; he can feel his face warming up and his heart is beating too loudly.

Junmyeon swallows; he can feel the intensity rising between them. He doesn’t understand it—what is happening? But before he can fathom, a knock on the door breaks the moment and Yifan jumps up from the bed. He opens the door to Joohyun, who hands him the envelope and stalks off without a single word. Yifan frowns at her receding back, “Does she know how you died?”

Junmyeon clears his throat, still trying to erase the way Yifan looked at him. “No,” he gets down from the bed too. “She had married and moved from Seoul by the time I got killed. She married someone American, as far as I remember.”

“Well, I don’t like her,” Yifan says as he rips the envelope. He reads, “Okay, our folder awaits us at floor 50 B.”

“50 B?” Junmyeon asks as his heart now twists for a whole other reason.

Yifan purses his lips, “Yeah, why?”

Junmyeon rubs his face as he groans, “I hate cases from 50 B.”

 

The reason why Junmyeon hates cases from 50 B is simple—this department is responsible for immature souls aka children. And Junmyeon hates, hates collecting young souls, their pureness is enough to make him cry, and added with the emotional upheaval he had to experience for the last few days, he is already done.

Yifan and Junmyeon find the hospice and the latter groans, “And it’s a hospice, splendid. Can this get any worse?”

Yifan reads from the folder. “Kim Minseok, aged 10, leukaemia. That’s so…young.”

Junmyeon groans some more. “Young? You don’t know how different children’s souls are.”

Yifan juts his lower lip, but Junmyeon rolls his eyes and pulls him towards the room they were supposed to be. They find Minseok on the bed, unconscious as his parents sit on either side of his bed. The father is silently weeping as the mother mumbles a prayer underneath her breath, her eyes close and her hands clasped.

Yifan and Junmyeon decide to take a seat as well since Minseok’s fever will take time to intensify, which will eventually kill him. They plop down on the sofa and look at the family already prepared to say goodbye to their chid. Yifan feels his throat constricting as he thinks about his own parents. But then, he hurts when he thinks how Junmyeon too would leave him one day. He looks at the man by his side and suddenly, he realises he is ready to do anything for him to stay. He doesn’t want to be alone in this life. While he could have never met Junmyeon in another life, Yifan isn’t prepared to meet him and lose him in this life.

Yifan takes Junmyeon’s hand and idly traces the half-moon of the latter’s thumbnail. “So, what happens to you in seven months?”

Junmyeon was surprised when Yifan suddenly took his hand, but the question stumps him more. “I don’t know…”

“Will you be reincarnated?”

“Possibly.”

“Would you remember me?”

Junmyeon looks up into Yifan’s eyes and his heart clenches when he sees despair in the other’s eyes. He shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“Can I come haunt you?” Yifan chuckles but it sounds forced, and Junmyeon hates it. Junmyeon can see Yifan trying to hide his despondency behind his usual buffoonery.

Junmyeon smirks, playing along, “You would make a terrible ghost.”

Yifan pouts. “What do you mean? I will be the best ghost ever!”

Junmyeon laughs, “Sure! You are just going to stand in one corner and pass sarcastic comments.”

Yifan laughs and laces his fingers through Junmyeon’s (and tries to stop his brain from screeching at how perfectly their hands fit). “Okay, yeah, I can’t fly around and drop expensive vases on people. Maybe I will show up when you are a teenager and judge your fashion.”

Junmyeon laughs loudly at that and Yifan’s lips curve slowly into a smile. When Junmyeon realises Yifan is staring at him, he frowns at the veneration in his eyes, though it is a little mollified. He asks, ‘What?”

Yifan shakes his head as he pinches Junmyeon’s cheek with his other hand. “You are so cute. I hope you are cute in your next life too and you get to love who you want, and that person loves you back as well and isn’t a complete dick. Or if he is, I can take care of him. Can reapers murder humans?”

Junmyeon’s heart thuds painfully but he tries to put a smile on his face as he says, “I don’t know about that, but thanks. I could be a girl in my next life for all we know.”

Yifan grins, “Wow, okay, you are going to be a really hot female as well. I mean, you can take this ass in your next life, right?”

Junmyeon yips in exasperation as he tries to hit Yifan, who grabs his wrist and a small tussle follows, which ends in Junmyeon lying on his back on the sofa and Yifan menacingly hovering over him, laughing his head off. “Give up shorty, you can’t win.”

Junmyeon huffs and throws his head back, his hands tightly clasped in Yifan’s, who tries not to look at the beautiful neck exposed underneath him. How can an ordinary body part be this perfect, Yifan muses as Junmyeon tries to catch his breath; he drags his teeth over his lower lip as he heaves and Yifan can’t look away. Right now, Yifan knows what he wants; and he doesn’t know if Junmyeon wants it to, but Jongdae’s words reverberate around his brain and he finally understands what Jongdae meant.

Junmyeon turns his head around and gasps when he sees Yifan gazing intently at him, his deep brown eyes glimmering as they focus on his lips. Unconsciously, Junmyeon licks his lips and his heart races when he sees Yifan take a deep, deep breath at that. _Oh,_ Junmyeon unexpectedly understands.

But before Yifan can lean in, the doors to the room open and nurses rush in. Yifan has never moved so fast in his life, or death, and before Junmyeon could process, Yifan is already on his feet, watching the Kim family crying over the bed. Junmyeon, too, gets to his feet and tries to quieten the hammering in his heart.

Minseok’s soul appears, as expected, and Junmyeon is already on the verge of tears because a healthy, pre-cancer Minseok is the tiniest, cutest child ever, and Yifan finally understands what Junmyeon meant. Minseok’s soul is literally radiating; there’s an unusual glow all over his body and Yifan feels it, the purity of the soul who is blinking up at him with large, feline eyes. The boy says, “Ahjussi, you are so tall.”

Okay, fuck purity. Yifan growls, “Do I look like an uncle to you?”

Junmyeon grins, “Well…”

Yifan glares at him, “You don’t get to say anything you grandpa!”

Minseok giggles and it is the sweetest sound ever, and Junmyeon can’t help but smile back. However, the child finally realises where he is, and he walks up to his parents, who are now crying over his dead body. He tries to touch his mother, but as usual, his hand passes through her. He pouts, “Am I a ghost?”

Yifan opens his mouth, but Junmyeon quickly shushes him by clapping a hand over his mouth. Minseok is a child, and Junmyeon is not going to tolerate any smartass comment from the taller reaper, or that is what Junmyeon relays through his glare. He walks up to the child and puts a hand over his head. Minseok looks up, his eyes watery as Junmyeon explains, “Minseok? You are dead, but you are not a ghost. You are just a soul, and we are here to take you away.”

“Take me away? Where? Heaven?”

Junmyeon sees Yifan about to open his mouth again, and he promptly steps on his feet to stop him. Ignoring his choked cry of pain, Junmyeon smiles, “Yes.”

Minseok doesn’t say anything as he pouts; Yifan comes closer to Junmyeon and leans down, his mouth close to the latter’s ear as he asks, “Uh, why is he glowing?”

Junmyeon sighs. “Later, ahjussi.”

Yifan grumbles something, possibly a curse word, and now that there is a lull in the room, Yifan’s mind travels back to the moment before Minseok appeared. He feels his face warming up when he remembers how much he wanted to kiss Junmyeon. He sneaks a look at Junmyeon, and when he sees Junmyeon doing the same, he rejoices a little inside. Guess, he’s not the only one unaffected.

Junmyeon needs to do something, or else he is going to obsess over why Yifan wanted to kiss him, or more importantly, _why he wanted Yifan to kiss him._ So, he crouches and asks, “Minseok, is there anything you wish to do before you leave with us?”

Minseok’s eyes widen and then he bows his head, thinking hard about what he wants. Yifan and Junmyeon share a look, hoping it is nothing too crazy. But, then the child surprises them when he says, “Can I go to my favourite park before we leave?”

 

Minseok pushes the swing higher and higher, and his little, shrill shrieks of glee are actually adorable, and even Yifan ends up smiling. Minseok had explained to them when they arrived here: “Mama and papa wouldn’t bring me here after I got sick, so I used to think of coming here a lot!”

Suddenly, Yifan is hit with how young Minseok is, and how his life had only begun. He slowly begins to see why Junmyeon hates escorting children to the Afterlife. It is not fair to be robbed of life so young, when you have just begun to understand and explore the world around you, and started dreaming about your future.

Yifan clenches his fist when he remembers his own childhood. Shuffling between two houses, two lives and trying to be nice towards the new people his parents would introduce him to—he hated it. And here he is now, dead from the years and years of self-loathing and hating his parents. He looks at Minseok, giggling as Junmyeon helps to push the swing higher and faster. He never appreciated his life, but Minseok is simply happy at being here on his favourite swing.

They stay in the park for another hour as Minseok runs and jumps—doing everything he couldn’t do—to his heart’s content. He even ropes in Yifan and Junmyeon to play tag with him, and Yifan forgives the child for continuously calling him uncle. Finally, when Minseok is done, he grins up at Junmyeon, “Will I have a park like this to play up there?”

Junmyeon pinches his chubby cheeks and nods, “Of course you would, and it is much, much bigger than this.”

“Yay!” Minseok claps.

They make their way to Afterlife and Junmyeon doesn’t take Minseok to the Reincarnation Depot, and though Yifan has questions, he chooses to simply follow Junmyeon. They get on the elevator and Junmyeon allows Minseok to press the button to the ninetieth floor. As soon as they get there, the noise surprises Yifan.

They step out and true to Junmyeon’s words, the entire floor is basically a giant playground and there are many children playing on it. Minseok’s eyes widen as he grins, “Woah! You were right! This is huge!”

A woman dressed in white walks up to them and when she sees Minseok, she smiles, “Kim Minseok?”

The boy becomes a bit wary and tries to hide behind Yifan. “How do you know my name?”

The woman kneels and says, “My name is Jisoo and I know every child’s name here, so I would know yours too.” Minseok nods, though the adults are sure he doesn’t quite understand. Jisoo reaches for him, and he chooses to trust her and takes her hand. She bows at Yifan and Junmyeon, “I will take it from here. Thank you Reaper Junmyeon, and Reaper Yifan.”

Junmyeon bows back, and Yifan follows suit, even though he is terribly confused. Minseok bids them goodbye. When they are back in the elevator again, Yifan opens his mouth, but Junmyeon beats him to it, “Yes, that was heaven. And yes, Jisoo was an angel.”

Yifan doesn’t know how Junmyeon could have known those were the exact questions he wanted to ask. “Are you a mind reader now?”

Junmyeon smirks, “No, I have come to know you too well.”

Yifan frowns. “But I have more questions.”

“And you don’t need to ask them,” Junmyeon sighs in exasperation. “One, Minseok was glowing because his soul is pure, uncorrupted. He hasn’t committed any sin, like adults do. Two, children are usually not reincarnated, instead they live in heaven and grow up like they normally would and become angels themselves.”

Yifan’s mouth drops. “So, angels are real?”

Junmyeon smiles, “That fact that I am here, and you are here, isn’t enough?”

The elevator stops at floor 50 and Yongsun walks in. She grins when she spots Yifan, and suddenly, Junmyeon feels like someone dunked cold water on him. She says, “Hi! I was actually coming to look for you.”

Yifan grins. “Me?” He leans closer to her as he smirks, “Any plans for tonight?”

Yongsun shakes her head. “Not really, but if you are free, we can get have some fun on the astral plane again.” And then, she finally notices that Junmyeon is there too. “Oh, hi there Junmyeon! Do you mind if I borrow your roommate for the night?”

Junmyeon smiles tightly. “Nope. He’s a free bird.”

Yifan’s smile drops when he realises that Junmyeon minds, and that he possibly minds a lot. He is about to open his mouth and tell Yongsun off, but the doors open at their living quarters and Junmyeon rushes out of the elevator with a clipped, “Have fun!”

Yifan wants to stop him, wants to go after him, but the doors close and Yongsun presses the floor for the astral plane. As the doors close on Junmyeon’s back, Yifan’s guts twist in the most uncomfortable way.


	8. Chapter 8

Junmyeon sighs as he undresses; what was he thinking, maybe he imagined all of that up. Won’t be the first time after all. He is washing his face when he tells his reflection, “Why are you such an idiot?” He doesn’t find an answer, which frustrates him a little.

_He changes into his bedclothes when the door suddenly barges open. Yifan stands at the door, panting, as if he had just run a marathon. Junmyeon’s eyes widen, and before he can say anything, Yifan marches up to him and cupping his face, presses his lips on his. And boy, is Junmyeon surprised._

Junmyeon groans as he turns over, thoroughly frustrated at his own imagination. Really? How old is he? Technically, he is in his eighties, and his mind is cooking up scenarios that suit a fifteen-year-old teenager more. He pulls the blanket over his head and tries to sleep, but then, the door _does_ open.

Junmyeon’s heart palpitates and if he wasn’t already dead, he would think he is having a heart attack as he peeks over the blanket’s edge and _it is_ Yifan standing at the doorway. Junmyeon slowly sits up and squints, “You are back early.”

Yifan’s grip on the doorknob tightens. He looks away from Junmyeon and says, “I, uh, I am tired.”

Junmyeon raises his eyebrows, “Tired? You are never tired.”

Yifan shuts the door. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.” Then, he stomps off to the bathroom.

Junmyeon cannot allow himself, but a tiny, nagging voice in his head is grinning and dancing in joy. Yifan noticed, and he came back for him, didn’t he? Junmyeon shakes his head and palms his head. Why is he even thinking such things? He needs to go to bed and forget all about today.

 

Yifan couldn’t sleep; he stayed awake and lay on his bed, watching Junmyeon sleep. The shorter man was unaware of Yifan’s thoughtful gaze on him all night long, and he was even more unaware when Yifan, at daybreak, went over to his bed and softly whispered, “I am sorry for yesterday. I won’t hang out with Yongsun if you don’t want me to.” Junmyeon just scrunched his face in his sleep and turned around.

Yifan knew Junmyeon was disappointed and he knew the other didn’t want him to go. Convincing Yongsun he was tired wasn’t so hard, and honestly, he didn’t know why apologising to Junmyeon was so hard while the other was awake. He wanted to say…what exactly? What is Junmyeon to him at this moment? Why is he feeling things he has never felt before? What is even going on?

Some time later, a knock on the door has Yifan getting down from his bed and a reaper he has never met hands him a summon and scurries off. Yifan growls in frustration; he had managed to fall asleep a few minutes ago. Why can’t people hold off from dying till he gets his rest?

Yifan turns around to find Junmyeon wide awake and the sight of his puffy face and messy hair has the former feeling strange feelings, _again_. To distract himself, and curb the urge to go squish Junmyeon in his embrace, Yifan loudly declares, “A summon!”

Junmyeon grimaces as he puts his socked feet on the floor. “There’s only two of us in the room, what the fuck are you so loud for you oaf?”

Yifan just smiles as he watches Junmyeon shuffle groggily to the bathroom. Is this what Yifan had been missing when he was alive?

 

“Here?” Yifan asks, his voice high-pitched as he takes a good look at his surroundings. “He’s gonna die here?”

Junmyeon doesn’t look very pleased either as he watches children running about in the playground, shrieking and laughing, and just enjoying themselves. It is obviously recess and their case, a Lu Han, aged 40, is scheduled to die here of a heart attack. Junmyeon flips through his file, “Hmm, started smoking when he was sixteen, and never stopped since then. An accomplished chain smoker I see.”

Yifan puts his hands on his hips. “Yeah, but imagine the trauma for the kids. They get to see their teacher die in front of their eyes. Very nice.”

Junmyeon presses his lips in a thin line. “My mother used to say, death, birth and love are the three things no one can predict.”

Yifan shrugs his shoulders. “Well, your mom wasn’t wrong.”

“She usually wasn’t.” Junmyeon smiles as he thinks about his mother. When people were busy calling him, the victim, names after Himchan got arrested, his mother was the only one who stuck by his memories and chose to remember him for who he was and not who he fell in love with. She was a good person, always. He watched her being brought here ten years after his death, and he chose to not go in front of her; he was just happy seeing her smile one last time before she got reincarnated.

Yifan realises Junmyeon is quiet and when he looks down at the other man, his heart skips a few beats. There is a gentle smile in his face as he reminisces, probably about his mother, and the late afternoon sunlight isn’t that harsh and under it, he glows. Yifan finds his breath getting caught in his throat. His hand reaches up towards Junmyeon’s temple and he gingerly brushes a bang away. Junmyeon breaks from his reverie and his lips form an o shape, and not for the first time, Yifan wonders how soft they would be if he could kiss them.

Yifan’s hand drops down to the corner of his mouth and Junmyeon swears he can hear his heart pound in his ears. Yifan’s long fingers cup his cheek as his thumbs rubs small circles on the corner of his mouth. Junmyeon says, “Yifan?”

Yifan leans closer, and closer, and closer, and Junmyeon can count each eyelash if he tries, and he can feel the other’s breath fanning over his face. But then, a loud scream breaks them apart. They both flinch at the shriek, high-pitched and harsh. A crowd of children have huddled over something, and out of the thick wall of legs, Junmyeon can spot a pair of polished brogues. He says, “He has had that heart attack!”

They rush over and sure enough, a man lies on the ground, eyes closed, hardly breathing. Another teacher runs over, scattering the kids. He falls to his knees and checks for a pulse, cussing under his breath as he whips out his phone to call for an ambulance. Yifan peers over Junmyeon’s shoulder to take a peek into the folder. He mutters, “He dies en route to the hospital, right?”

Junmyeon nods as he looks at the man on the cemented ground. Even though he is forty, the man looks a little too impish and there’s still some youthfulness, despite the premature wrinkling due to smoking continuously for so long. Some of the students have started crying, and the teacher is biting his nail off as he fumbles, unsure about how to proceed. More teachers fill the ground and they slowly usher the weeping students inside.

The ambulance finally arrives and Yifan smirks, “I always wanted to ride a roof of a car.”

Junmyeon winces; but moments later, he is pressed against Yifan as they take a ride on top of the ambulance. The wind whips his face, but Yifan is having the time of his life as he whoops loudly. Junmyeon, though, doesn’t complain. His back is pressed against Yifan’s chest and the latter’s arms are wrapped around his to stop him from toppling and it is nice.

The van halts at a red light and Junmyeon finally breathes, “We should go inside.”

Yifan doesn’t want to, not when Junmyeon is so close to him and he smells so nice again. but he whispers, “Okay.”

They use Jiyong’s help to manifest inside the vehicle, and sure enough, they already find Lu Han’s soul blinking down at his body in great confusion. Junmyeon kindly says, “Hello, Lu Han?”

The man turns to look at Junmyeon and his eyes widen as he slowly realises. “I am dead, aren’t I?” The reapers nod. “I suppose it was either a heart attack or lung cancer. This way is less nasty, I suppose.” He sighs, “Did the kids see me die?”

Yifan says, “Kind of. They are gonna be traumatised for life by the way.”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes before digging his elbow into Yifan’s diaphragm. Despite everything, Yifan’s bedside manner hasn’t changed. The soul in front of them looks equally appalled as he mutters, “Shit, I wish they didn’t have to see it.”

Junmyeon smiles, “Were you their favourite?”

Lu Han smiles, “I suppose I was. Apparently, I made maths fun for them.”

Yifan grimaces as he rubs the spot Junmyeon hit him, “Maths isn’t fun, it cannot be fun.”

Junmyeon hums along, he has to agree with that. Lu Han chuckles, “It can be, if you find the right person to teach you.” Then he looks at the paramedics trying to resuscitate him. “They aren’t gonna be able to bring me back, will they?”

Junmyeon shakes his head. “I am sorry.”

Lu Han shrugs. “Should have quit smoking, huh.”

“Is there anything you would like to do before we take you away?”

Lu Han’s eyes glimmer as he hears the question. He asks, his voice hesitant, “Anything I want?”

 

This is the furthest Junmyeon has ever been as his life as a reaper. He would love to stay and admire the architecture and the history, but he is here, in Prague, for a job. Lu Han had apparently been to Prague once upon a time, in his youth, for a student exchange program and had fallen in love. Thus, right now they are sitting atop a cathedral overlooking a small residential complex, waiting for a woman called Simone.

Lu Han says, “I was twenty and she was a year younger than me. We knew it was a stupid thing to do, to fall in love when we knew we couldn’t be together, but we did anyway.”

Junmyeon asks, “Why not?”

Lu Han laughs, “I come from a family that prioritises career over everything. Imagine if I had told them I had fallen in love with a foreign woman.”

Yifan adds, “So, you didn’t even try, huh?”

Lu Han shakes his head. “And till this day, I regret it.”

Junmyeon asks, “Is that why you never married?”

Lu Han smiles, melancholy visible in it. “Yes. No one was ever her.” The doors to the complex swish open and a woman with dark hair exits, accompanied by two children. Lu Han straightens up as his voice drops to a whisper, “That’s her.”

Junmyeon and Yifan look down at her, and they see a beautiful woman doting over her children. She is laughing and the way her eyes shine in adoration shaves years off her. Lu Han sighs, “She is still so beautiful, and so happy.” He gets to his feet and says, “I am ready to go now, I just wanted to see her.”

The woman walks away with the children in two, busy chattering in a language Yifan and Junmyeon don’t know. Jiyong opens the portal and they go through it, silently as both reapers feel saddened by Lu Han’s unfulfilled love.

 

**Same day, and on another dimension**

Simone laughs at Ambroz and Anuska’s little tiff as she gently separates the squabbling siblings. As much as she loves the twins, they can get a little handful. But she doesn’t mind; she is only too happy to allow her sister some free time and take the twins off her hands, even if it is for a few hours.

Anuska yells, “But auntie! Ambroz started it!”

Simone rolls her eyes. “Anuska, you called him a potato-head first.”

Ambroz grins as Anuska scowls, finally admitting defeat as she stomps her feet. Simone shakes her head at her niece and nephew. They get to the park and they run for the slide as soon as they step through the small gate. Simone smiles and locates a bench to sit down and watch over them.

At forty, she knows her mother expects her to find someone and settle down, and she knows her sister too wants that, but whenever she tries and says yes to the many men asking her out, she is reminded of a Chinese boy she met many summers ago. She looks up to the clear summer sky and again, wonders, how and where Lu Han is, and if he thinks about her too.

Suddenly, someone screams, and she sighs as she gets to her feet. Anuska has pushed her brother to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

They are back in their favourite beer shop again and this time, the silence they share is unusually heavy and tense. It has been a few days, but they are both thinking about Lu Han and Simone.

Yifan is finding it difficult to believe that someone can love another for twenty years and still be alright with not being with them. Yifan cannot imagine; he saw his parents fall out of love and maybe subsequently that made him believe that relationships don’t last, that love fades, and nothing is worth it. He traces the condensation trickling down the side of his bottle as he glances at Junmyeon, who looks equally deep in thought.

Junmyeon is trying to compare which of the two made him sadder—Jongdae or Lu Han. In a way, when he compares his own life, he sees how much sadder Lu Han’s love for the woman he could never be with makes him. He thought love would save him, it took his life instead, yet Lu Han held on to something that was beyond him, wasn’t for keeps. He looks up and is startled to find Yifan staring at him. He asks, “What?”

“You are thinking of that asshole, aren’t you?” Yifan counter-questions and Junmyeon blushes.

“N-no, I mean, not him per se,” Junmyeon tries to defend himself, but in vain because Yifan gives him an all-knowing smirk.

“He didn’t deserve you.” Yifan’s voice is low and there is an undercurrent of affection in it, and Junmyeon inaudibly gasps. Their eyes meet over the table and again, the urge to do _something_ takes over. For the last few days, Yifan and Junmyeon had been busy with paperwork and found themselves updating their latest cases. Yifan also got a small evaluation and thankfully passed with flying colours (Junmyeon nearly cried in relief).

However, before they can do anything, a summon arrives. Yifan covers his mouth to stifle a groan, he is starting to get seriously annoyed by all these interruptions.

 

“Seriously?”

Junmyeon doesn’t know how to respond to Yifan’s outburst, so he keeps mum. They are back at Raspberry Neon and this time, thankfully, it is not the alleyway but a VIP room inside the club. Yifan has been to this room, one too many times. Junmyeon plops down on a loveseat. “Came here often?” His voice is casual, like he is just asking about the weather.

Yifan crosses his arms and winces at the obnoxious room with its loveseats and couches, all drenched in a foggy yellow light that after one too many lines of cocaine would make telling people apart difficult. Yifan is a hundred per cent sure he got involved in the orgy that one time.

Yifan plops down beside Junmyeon and spreads his legs with a frown on his face, “Well, the owners knew me.”

“Hmm, that’s granted.” The silence is sort of awkward and only filled with the muted thump of the bass coming from the club downstairs.

The door to the room opens and a man walks in; he locks the door behind him. His head is shaved, and he doesn’t look any older than twenty (but the reapers know he is older). He staggers to the seat opposite the loveseat the reapers have occupied, and sighs deeply. Yifan points at him, “Our case?”

Junmyeon hums. “Yeah, Do Kyungsoo, twenty-four.”

Kyungsoo then pulls out a syringe, a spoon, a lighter and a packet of crystals that Yifan recognises instantly. He jumps from the seat, but a firm hold on his sleeve pulls him back. He looks down to see Junmyeon wearing a sad face as he shakes his head, “You can’t interfere with a death Yifan, reapers aren’t allowed to do that.”

“But,” Yifan starts, but the look in Junmyeon’s eyes makes him forget his words.

“He dies, just like you did.”

Yifan turns to look at Kyungsoo, who’s melting the crystals on the spoon with his lighter. Yifan can see he is melting much more than he needs for just a high. The guy knows what he’s doing, just like he did many months ago. Yifan takes a good look at the face now bunched up in concentration. He is younger than Yifan was. Yifan asks, “He is so young, why is he doing this?”

Junmyeon instead, poses another question, “Why did you do?”

Yifan feels his heart dropping to his stomach as he lets Junmyeon’s question sink in. He slowly turns his head and sees Junmyeon staring at him, his eyes gentle and kind. The shorter slowly gets to his feet and cups Yifan’s face, who watches the other intently and with bated breath. Junmyeon rises on his tiptoes and tugs Yifan’s head down, so he could rest his temple against his. “I am sorry, I know you had demons, that you had struggles I will never understand, and I know you wanted to escape them. I don’t know if death was your answer, but you are free from all your pain in a way, and I know I may sound selfish, but I am still happy to have met you, in this life at least.”

Yifan feels his breath getting caught in his lungs as he feels the burn of unshed tears behind his eyelids. He swallows as he says the things he hadn’t found the courage to admit even to himself, “I know I wasn’t all right in my head, you know. I know I needed help, but the drugs gave me a better escape.” Yifan scoffs as a tear rolls down his cheek, “And one little white line turned my life around, and I thought self-destruction was my only way left. I only took up law because me father wanted me to, I never did anything for myself Junmyeon.” He peers into Junmyeon’s eyes, which are watery as well, “I wanted to kill myself because I found no purpose in living. I am still glad that despite the shitty things I did when alive, I still met you after life.”

Junmyeon smiles as he pulls Yifan into a hug and the taller tucks himself to fit under the former’s chin. Junmyeon cards his fingers through the other’s hair and murmurs, suddenly feeling bolstered because his heart is beating too loud and his mind is buzzing, “Will it be too much if I say I like you?”

Yifan gasps as he pulls back; and Junmyeon regrets his stupid mouth for a while but then it is his turn to be surprised when he finds lips pressing into his. Yifan is _kissing_ him.

It doesn’t last too long or get too intense but Junmyeon hears Yifan’s unsaid confession in it. The taller smiles, “Finally, I was this close to breaking people’s neck and kill them all over again when they kept interrupting each time I wanted to kiss you.”

Junmyeon grins as he swipes his thumb under Yifan’s eyes to wipe the wetness away. He replaces his thumb with his lips and he hears Yifan sigh and his hands coming to rest on his hips. However, Junmyeon pulls away after a while and smirks, “We are still on a case, you oaf.”

Yifan is feeling smug too, but yeah, Junmyeon’s right. Yifan returns his attention to Kyungsoo, who has curled up on the couch, heaving. And Yifan remembers the last moments of his death. They rush back in like a dam releasing water and maybe, Junmyeon knows what’s on his mind, because he silently grabs his hand, and says nothing. Yifan takes a deep breath and looks away.

After a few minutes, Kyungsoo’s soul appears. He seems confused for a second, but then he looks down at his own dead body and makes a low gasping noise. He then notices Junmyeon and Yifan, checks their outfit, raises an eyebrow, and the first thing he says is, “That was painful.”

Yifan snorts, “Tell me about it.” Junmyeon just sighs and rolls his eyes. Kyungsoo’s eyebrow rises higher and Yifan explains, “I was a customer here too, and yeah, that’s the option I chose as well.”

“Ah,” Kyungsoo nods. He crosses his arms and says, “So, you guys gonna take me away?”

Junmyeon nods as he steps forward, “Yes. I am Junmyeon, this is Yifan.” He launches into the usual spiel, “Is there anything you would like to do before we take you away?”

Kyungsoo purses his lips as he thinks for a while, “There is…one thing.”

 

Kyungsoo sighs as he leans back on a tree. They are on an island close to Jeju, and the night sky over them is covered in millions of stars. The haze of pollution is absent here, and the sight humbles and stuns them all. Yifan inches closer to Junmyeon and throws an arm around him; Junmyeon scowls up at the taller, who pretends to not notice anything as he pulls Junmyeon closer. A moment later, Junmyeon just smiles as his cheeks warm up and he nestles closer to Yifan anyway.

Kyungsoo says, “This is the only good memory I have you know. Life was so wonderful till I turned sixteen, I suppose.”

Junmyeon hums. “You lost your parents then, didn’t you?”

Kyungsoo nods. “Yeah. Moving to Seoul was a culture shock, and I never really got used to the noise and pollution. And dear lord, the crowd!”

“It was not any better when I was sixteen.”

Yifan chuckles, “Grandpa, you lived in the forties, you are a history lesson.”

Kyungsoo laughs along as Junmyeon elbows Yifan in his abdomen. He asks, “And when did you die?”

The question is for Yifan, whose smile drops a little, “Four months and sixteen days since I died.”

“Why did you do it, from one meth addict to another?”

Junmyeon turns his head to look at Yifan as his heart pounds. Yifan looks upwards to the sky as he replies, “Self-loathing is a pretty powerful way to hurt yourself, and it doesn’t get better. Maybe I could have lived if I knew how to help myself, but,” he looks down at Junmyeon and his smile is back, softer, more intimate, “I don’t regret dying.”

Kyungsoo looks at the way Junmyeon’s cheeks reddens as Yifan tugs him closer still. He gulps, “I know, I think I understand.”

 

Kyungsoo was to be made a reaper, and Junmyeon was tasked to train him as well. After settling the man, Junmyeon returns to his room, and finds Yifan standing at the window. The taller looks over his shoulder and smiles as he reaches for Junmyeon, who steps into his embrace, a little hesitating.

Yifan tucks Junmyeon under his chin and says, “I really like you too, by the way.”

Junmyeon presses his cheek into Yifan’s chest and smiles, “I know, I understood that perfectly.”

Yifan cups Junmyeon’s face, tilting his head up and a beat passes, where they both look at each other, and a tense breath later, they both move, and their lips meet in a tenderness Junmyeon wasn’t expecting. But he likes it anyway, and melts into it as Yifan moves his lips, and he follows.

Each nip, each bite, each gentle tug is matched, and it’s a sensuous slide but soon their breaths get heavier, their hands more frantic and even with their bodies pressed so close, it doesn’t feel enough. Yifan licks the corner of Junmyeon’s lips, who parts his lips eagerly.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door, and a voice says, “Reaper Junmyeon? It’s Daehyun, I need the report for today.”

Junmyeon breaks the kiss to answer the door, but Yifan refuses to leave him with a growl, “No, no more interruptions. Daehyun can go fucking wait.” Junmyeon is about to protest, Yifan puts a finger on his mouth and shakes his head, “Nope, nopity nope.” Junmyeon is about to make a point when Yifan shushes him by kissing him again.

And when the kiss gets deeper and deeper, Junmyeon almost can’t hear the knocking on the door anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter has 1993 words, the year Kyungsoo was born, and i swear this was not intentional


	10. Chapter 10

Junmyeon wakes up with a low groan. He squints as bright sunlight fills the room; he blinks to force himself awake. But a voice, deliciously low and raspy in his ear, murmurs, “No, five more minutes.”

Junmyeon smiles as he closes his eyes. Five more minutes won’t hurt, not when he is this comfortable and happy. A few days have passed since Yifan kissed him for the first time, and they pushed their beds together because it turned out that Yifan was a giant cuddle monster and well, post-coitus cuddling is difficult on a narrow single bed.

Yifan slips his hand under Junmyeon’s shirt and the latter chuckles a little at the cool, rough fingertips whispering over his skin. He was lying on his back with Yifan’s arm on his torso, but he shifts, and now his back is pressed on Yifan’s chest. Yifan wraps his arm around his chest and pulls him close, his nose nuzzling Junmyeon’s nape.

Junmyeon sighs as he stretches his legs under the blanket. Last night, they went on a ‘date’ on the astral plane. It was a surprise, actually; Yifan had avoided him all day and that had panicked Junmyeon for some time but he was busy with Kyungsoo (whose etiquette is ten times worse than Yifan’s), so he managed to push his doubts aside for some time. However, when evening rolled in, Kyungsoo dragged him to the astral plane, even when he didn’t want to go, and then there was Yifan, with a stupid smile, waiting for him at the only nice restaurant with rooftop seating. And there even were candles on the table!

After dinner, they came back to their room and Junmyeon learnt that his blowjob skills were kind of rusty, but Yifan enjoyed it nonetheless. Well, he can get all the practice he needs now.

Junmyeon grins at that memory as he turns around in Yifan’s hold. He kisses the underside of Yifan’s jaw and says, “You know, I really didn’t expect yesterday.”

Yifan sleepily scoffs. “It was actually Yongsun’s idea.”

“Really?” Junmyeon was worried the woman would be upset with their relationship, but she was surprisingly happy about it, and gave Yifan such a hard pat on his back that the poor man almost stumbled. “Hey, I just remembered, why did Yongsun hit you so hard that day?”

Yifan opens his eyes and peers down at Junmyeon, looking slightly suspicious. “Uh, I may or may not have gotten drunk and told her how cute your ass was, and that I was pissed how much I wanted to kiss you but couldn’t because people won’t stop dying.”

Junmyeon giggles as he lightly swats at Yifan’s chest. “Why are you so obsessed with my ass, like is that all you like about me?”

Junmyeon’s voice holds no anger as he looks at Yifan, his eyes crinkled in mirth. Yifan grins before moving his hand to paw at one firm cheek. Junmyeon yelps when he feels Yifan’s large hand cup his buttock through the thin fabric of the pajamas. Yifan replies, “Well, what can I say, you do have other better qualities, but _damn_ this is the best among them.”

Junmyeon laughs and Yifan quite loves the sound of that. He removes his hand and reaches to cup the shorter man’s face. He rubs his nose against Junmyeon’s and says, “You are so beautiful when you smile.”

Junmyeon can feel his face warming up, and gets shy as he looks away from Yifan’s reverent gaze. He butts his head against Yifan’s sternum and smiles, “I never knew you were capable of so much cheese.”

“Well, I don’t know how boyfriends were in the 40s, but this boyfriend of this century is capable of a whole lot of cheese.” Yifan pulls Junmyeon closer as the latter chuckles. “Especially when no one has ever made me feel this way, not when I was alive at least.”

Junmyeon can’t help but smile. He feels his heart rapidly beating in his chest and he can’t help but plant a kiss on the corner of Yifan’s lips. He says, “You make me feel slightly insane, but I like it anyway.”

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door and Yifan grumbles loudly. “I swear, everyone is conspiring against us.”

Junmyeon laughs as he pushes Yifan off himself and yawns. There is a rather loud knock on the door, and then an angry voice is heard shouting, “How much sex do you two need to have anyway?”

“I am going to re-kill Kyungsoo,” Yifan groans as he sits up and puts his chin on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “I am going to make it a hundred times more agonizing, I swear. Where do you buy torture materials here?”

 

Kyungsoo flips through the folder as he reads in a monotonous voice, “Park Chanyeol, twenty-six, a boring job, married, how boring, blah blah blah.”

Yifan claps a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing out loud as Junmyeon sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. If he wasn’t dead, he would have died from bursting a vein. Kyungsoo’s soul objective, like Yifan’s, hasn’t been determined, so he is stuck as a reaper for now, which doesn’t enthuse Kyungsoo much. He is already bored, and when he heard that it took years for Junmyeon’s soul objective to be fulfilled, he was tremendously shocked.

They are at the entrance of a hospital’s ER now. Their new case, a Park Chanyeol, is scheduled to die the moment the stretcher leaves the ambulance. A full collision accident would become the cause of his death. However, Junmyeon noticed an odd discrepancy. Underneath the expected status of the soul, the authority has stamped ‘Pending’. He has never seen it before and he didn’t have time to ask anyone about it either. So, what is he supposed to do with Chanyeol’s soul when they take it back?

A loud screeching of brakes and a blaring siren brings Junmyeon back to his surroundings. Kyungsoo still looks thoroughly bored as the paramedics jump down the van and they pull not one, but two stretchers out—Junmyeon frowns. But he doesn’t get time to mull on it as Chanyeol’s soul appears. He seems shocked and tries to follow the medics inside when Yifan pulls him back. Chanyeol struggles in Yifan’s hold with everything he’s got but Yifan growls, “Calm down dude! You are dead!”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes at Yifan’s brute behavior, and he hisses at Kyungsoo, “That is not how you deal with recently deceased people. Watch me.” Kyungsoo shrugs his shoulders and that is all what Junmyeon is gonna get.

The shorter, more experienced reaper walks up to Chanyeol and has to crane up his neck, because the soul is as tall as Yifan, if not a little less. He places his hands on Chanyeol’s upper arm and with the calmest voice, says, “Chanyeol, you have passed on. You cannot do anything about it.”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “No, but I can save him!”

“Save who?”

“Baekhyun, my husband!”

Junmyeon looks over his shoulder at the doctors and nurses desperately trying to bring Chanyeol back to life, and then his gaze lands on the other stretcher where a much smaller male lies, his head covered in blood and glass shards. Junmyeon’s eyes widen when he realizes what the pending might mean. He turns to look back at Chanyeol and says, “Chanyeol, I am not sure if we can save him.”

Yifan frowns, and even Kyungsoo joins the conversation, “What do you mean?”

“I have an idea, but we need to go back to Afterlife, now,” Junmyeon says.

 

Joohyun is the manager of the department and so, obviously, the awkward, frigid atmosphere is absolutely her and Junmyeon’s fault. But today, there is also an undercurrent of anger and possessiveness in the air, and anyone walking into the room can easily tell it is wafting from Yifan. It wouldn’t be very hard to tell, because currently Yifan is sitting in the Department of Future Deaths with a massive scowl on his face.

Junmyeon is looking at the wall while Chanyeol is excitedly asking Kyungsoo a million questions that the shorter is answering in his usual monotonous voice. Joohyun finally finds what Junmyeon asked for and she answers, “Yes, a Mr Byun Baekhyun is scheduled to die tomorrow at ten to midnight. Severe hemorrhaging is to be the cause of death.”

“No!” Chanyeol screams as he gets up from his chair in haste. He is shaking his head, his eyes wild and wide as he sinks back on the chair. He puts his head in his hands and mutters, “This is all my fault, this is all my fault…”

Junmyeon puts his hand on Chanyeol’s quivering shoulder, “You couldn’t have done anything. The bus driver was at fault, not you.”

Chanyeol looks up from his hands with tears running down his face. “But Baekkie wasn’t even hit first, I was. I heard him scream, that is the last thing I heard.” He breaks down into sobs again, and it is pitiful, and even Joohyun looks at him with sympathy.

Kyungsoo on the other hand is sort of unimpressed. He says, “But, you guys won’t be even separated in death.”

Yifan nearly gasps, because he knows Junmyeon is going to rain down on the shorter man’s ass. For now, Chanyeol cries louder and Junmyeon whips his head around, narrows his eyes at Kyungsoo and hisses, “You, you are just awful.” Kyungsoo manages to look the tiniest bit sheepish.

Junmyeon also sends Yifan a glare, and the latter is about to protest when he reckons he has better things to do, so he drags Kyungsoo out of the room. When they are out, the shorter asks, “Was I wrong?”

“Well, technically, you weren’t wrong,” Yifan crosses his arms as he agrees. “But, Junmyeon likes to be all proper and nice. He didn’t die embittered souls like us after all.”

“Oh yeah, right, I tend to forget not everyone is a cloud of despair like me,” Kyungsoo admits as he leans back on a wall. “Hold up,” he squints up at Yifan, “Junmyeon died in the fifties, right?” When Yifan nods, he continues, “So, basically you are fucking a man approximately six decades older than you. Gross.”

Yifan takes a deep, deep breath as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Kyungsoo starts cackling at his misery.

The doors swish open and Junmyeon walks out with a tearful Chanyeol. Yifan straightens up and asks, “So, what now?”

“Chanyeol will remain with us for the meantime. He can’t leave till Baekhyun arrives, that’s his last wish,” Junmyeon replies.

“In sickness and health,” Chanyeol smiles as he rubs his face.

Yifan and Kyungsoo share a look, and the former jerks his head towards Chanyeol. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he gets what Yifan is trying to say. He walks up to Chanyeol and genuinely tries, “I am sorry Chanyeol, that was rude of me.”

Junmyeon practically beams at Kyungsoo and Chanyeol forgives him anyway. Yifan cannot help but smile at Junmyeon’s proud expression. He can’t help it either as he reaches for Junmyeon’s hand and squeezes it. He leans down and whispers, “See? He does have some manners.”

Junmyeon just shakes his head in exasperation, but there is some affection in there.

 

Kyungsoo thinks he has adapted quite well to death. He never thought the afterlife was real, but it wasn’t too hard to accept that it eventually was. It has been a process though, collecting souls with Yifan and Junmyeon and their obvious sexual tension, even though they are already a couple. Like right now, he can hear them giggling behind him. He rolls his eyes, this is why he hated people when alive. Also, the reason why he didn’t have any friends.

They are at the hospital again, and Chanyeol wanted to be alone with Baekhyun, so the three reapers left him alone. Kyungsoo is the angry third wheel; he wants to leave but Junmyeon would lecture him _again._ The older reaper is a good person, but dear lord Kyungsoo hates it when he nags, though it isn’t all awful. Kyungsoo knows Junmyeon is just looking out for him, it’s just, he isn’t used to someone pecking after him like a mother hen. No one has cared about since his parents passed away.

He glances behind him and finds Junmyeon blushing as Yifan looks at him with sappy eyes. Kyungsoo shudders at all the affection and turns around, choosing to watch the sun set instead. Couple are gross, he concludes.

He just watches the sun dip down the horizon, and the sky changing colours for a while before his peace is shattered. “Kyungsoo! Come here! You have to convince Junmyeon that Oasis is the superior British boy band and not Beatles!” Yifan shouts.

Junmyeon shouts back, “Listen! I know I was dead by the time they debuted, but no way is Oasis better! I actually got to see John Lennon come to the British Afterlife!”

Kyungsoo sighs, rolls his eyes and palms his face. He whips his head around and comments, “No way, One Direction is superior.”

Both Yifan and Junmyeon stare at him like he’s gone mad, and Kyungsoo just smirks in victory. No one has to know he used to like Spice Girls instead.


	11. Chapter 11

_“Yeol? Will you really not tell me where we are going?”_

_“No-ope,” Chanyeol replies, even popping the p. He side-eyes Baekhyun, who is pouting up at him, greatly miffed but still trying to sway him with his cuteness. “You can keep trying to be as cute as you wanna be, I’m not spilling.”_

_Baekhyun looks ahead, pout still in place. “You have never been able to keep anything from me! You are like the worst secret keeper on earth!”_

_Chanyeol laughs. “I have kept plenty of secrets. You never saw me proposing to you, did you?”_

_Baekhyun grumbles, “That’s only because I was at my parents’ that weekend, you dumb tree.”_

_The car halts at a red light and Chanyeol reaches to pinch Baekhyun’s cheek, who whines, “Park Chanyeol! I hate you!”_

_Chanyeol blows him a kiss. “No, you don’t.”_

_Baekhyun manages to get Chanyeol’s hand off his face by a sharp poke at his husband’s side. Chanyeol wheezes in pain, obviously faking it, so Baekhyun rolls his eyes and says, “Just drive you fool, the light’s green.”_

_Chanyeol grins and is about to push the pedal to accelerate when Baekhyun screams, “Chanyeol!”_

Baekhyun, his Baekkie, lies motionless on the bed, his small body further diminished by the multitude of tubes hanging from his body, and connected to several machines. Chanyeol can hear the monotonous beeping of the monitor, and despite Joohyun and Junmyeon convincing him, he still wants to believe that his husband just might survive, and all the reapers are wrong.

He bunches his fists on his lap as he stares at Baekhyun, his husband, with his eyes slowly filling up with tears. One half of Baekhyun’s face is swaddled in blood-soaked bandages, and Chanyeol remembers the last moment, in great agony, when he saw the glass shards slicing through his husband’s face. He knew he wasn’t going to survive, but he wished Baekhyun could, but they tell him he won’t. They tell him a glass shard, undetected by the doctors, is lodged in his husband’s brain, entering via his eye, and that the tiny fragment will slowly bleed him inside out. And that’s just not fair.

He watches the slow rise and fall of Baekhyun’s chest as he reminisces. They were headed to a beach retreat, to celebrate their third anniversary, which was tomorrow. People were not surprised when they got married the moment they got jobs and managed to rent an apartment on their own. Everyone around them were happy for them, for Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the high school sweethearts who survived everything and were never any less in love. When people asked what their secret was, Baekhyun would smile, a bit smug, and say, “I am just lucky I am in love with my best friend.”

And they were best friends, they were a team, is this is why, even in death, they are not going to be separated? But Chanyeol doesn’t like it.

 

It is a few minutes to midnight, and the reapers show up beside Chanyeol, who looks at them with red eyes and wet cheeks. Junmyeon’s heart twists as he walks up to him and Chanyeol just throws his arms around his waist and starts sobbing. Yifan frowns, and Kyungsoo elbows him with a smirk, “Relax, grandpa is still yours.”

Yifan growls under his breath as he sees Junmyeon comforting the giant crying on his torso, “Shut the fuck up, will you?”

“Never.”

Junmyeon hears them talking, though he doesn’t hear exactly what is said, but he whips his head around to glare at them anyway. Kyungsoo and Yifan both take a step back and the latter sheepishly smiles while the former looks up at the ceiling, suddenly very interested in studying the minute cracks in it.

Chanyeol asks in a wet voice, “Can you really do nothing?”

Junmyeon smiles, a little in melancholy, “Life and death is something a power higher than me or you decide, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol chuckles as he leans back and scrubs his face. “So, I would need an appointment with God?”

Junmyeon shrugs; Chanyeol turns around to gaze at Baekhyun while Junmyeon sinks into deep thought. He has questioned the existence of this higher power too, and he is still to see if there is indeed a God somewhere, but right now, he doesn’t have the right answer for Chanyeol. He thinks no one really does.

Five minutes pass, and the bleeding inside Baekhyun’s brain reaches dangerous levels, and his heart rate starts to drop. Nurses and doctors fill the room, and they try, but no one is able to revive Baekhyun. Junmyeon holds on to Chanyeol, who has started shaking and he is silent as he watches his husband die.

A few seconds later, Baekhyun’s soul arrives and the first thing he says is, “Chanyeol?”

Junmyeon finally lets Chanyeol go, who doesn’t wait any time in pulling Baekhyun close to him and crushing him into his chest. Baekhyun tries to take a look around and he slowly realises as he asks, “Am I dead?”

Chanyeol is the one to answer, tears still running down his face, “Yes Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widen before he asks, “Are you dead?” When Chanyeol nods, Baekhyun’s eyes well up. “I am so sorry baby.” Baekhyun throws his arms around Chanyeol and starts sobbing. “I thought how the last thing I said to you was I hate you when I didn’t even mean it. I wished and wished there was a way I could tell you that Yeol. I love you so, so much!” Baekhyun crumbles in his husband’s embrace, who just holds him tighter.

Junmyeon’s throat constricts at the scene, so he steps back, wanting to give the spouses some space. He feels Yifan walking up to him and throw his hand around his shoulders. Junmyeon tilts his head up to look at Yifan, who just smiles at him, all soft and sweet, and Junmyeon feels his heart skipping a few beats. He leans into Yifan and laces his fingers through the hand on his shoulder.

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at the both couples, but he smiles a little. At least everyone gets to stay together, no matter how morbid and tragic it is.

 

Jiyong raises his eyebrows when five people step through the portal he opened chattering loudly amongst themselves. He smiles when he sees Junmyeon fussing over Kyungsoo getting annoyed by Baekhyun, who turns out to have even more questions to ask than his husband ever did. Chanyeol and Yifan have started a conversation in the background when the former realised the latter looked familiar. Apparently, Chanyeol, who was a journalist, almost faceplanted in front of a court thanks to Yifan. Right now, they bond over how corrupt Lee Corp really is.

Yifan widens his eyes, “You should see what they do to manipulate stocks.”

Chanyeol snorts, “I am not even surprised they do that. But no one ever got to them, thanks to you.”

Yifan has the decency to looks slightly ashamed. “Well, I am going to take that as a compliment and an insult.”

Soon, they reach the Reincarnation Depot where their next lives will be decided. Baekhyun and Chanyeol bid farewell to the three reapers as they disappear on the other side of the door. The three reapers are in the elevators when Yifan sighs. When Junmyeon looks at him, he says, “Do they get to be together in their next life as well?”

Junmyeon shrugs his shoulders, “We don’t know that, no one does, but I would wish them the same.”

Even Kyungsoo grunts, “They deserve each other. I don’t know who was more annoying—the giant or the bacon.”

Both Junmyeon and Yifan guffaw at Kyungsoo’s words. Kyungsoo yelps in surprise when Junmyeon pinches his cheek and Yifan ruffles his hair. The taller even quips, “Aw look at you, even you have a heart somewhere in there!”

Kyungsoo tries to wave both the reapers off, and they keep laughing, but he feels an odd fond feeling filling his chest as he smiles a little. Life after death isn’t all that bad.


	12. Chapter 12

Months later, Yesung and Sooyeon are out for a stroll through the astral plane. The exercise was mostly for Sooyeon’s wellbeing who had holed herself up in her office, determined to file away all the one thousand six hundred and forty-one cases she got this week. Yesung had shaken his head and forcefully lifted her off her chair and dragged her outside.

Yesung had known Sooyeon since she died. He was still just a reaper and his predecessor hasn’t achieved her soul objective yet. Sooyeon had died rather gruesomely as well, at the hands of her own brother, so she couldn’t find peace. Yesung was instructed to train her, but it was soon realised that she had more of an inclination towards numbers, and within one month, she had organised the Reaper Office so neatly, she had been permanently appointed as the chief secretary to the Reaper Office on spot, till she finds her soul objective. It has been a hundred years since then, and her soul objective has been achieved, but she took the decision to stay.

Loud laughter attracts their attention, and both turn their head to look at the trio of Junmyeon, Yifan and Kyungsoo seated at the small beer shop. Sooyeon asks, her brows furrowing, “Has Junmyeon talked with you?”

Yesung nods. “And to no one’s surprise, he is staying.”

Sooyeon smiles, well almost, “True. But has Yifan and Kyungsoo’s soul objective being decided?”

Yesung smiles, slightly enigmatic and Sooyeon frowns. “Yes.”

Sooyeon’s eyes widen. “Then, shouldn’t you have a talk with them as well?”

Yesung shrugs. “I don’t need to. Their soul objectives have already been accomplished.”

Sooyeon’s confusion increases, “But then, why…”

Yesung smiles as he rubs his chin. “Yifan’s soul objective was love while Kyungsoo’s was friendship, in a way they have achieved what they wanted. It would be cruel of me to separate the three now, wouldn’t it?”

Sooyeon presses her lips, but she understands. “Fine then, now buy me some squid sticks.”

Yesung chuckles as he allows Sooyeon to drag him towards the fragrant food stalls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~THE END~
> 
> If anyone wondered why i went from updating nearly everyday to updating after weeks, well your girl now has a job and my update schedules have gone haywire. But this story was a process, I usually make a gazillion notes when writing a fic, but for this fic, i made no notes, no structure, no plot points. Kind of like how I wrote Faking it For a Living and how I am writing Phoenix Flame. I wrote this entire fic on autopilot basically. It all started when I saw this cute pic of Junmyeon dressed as the reaper for the vlive they did in 2016, and I thought to myself "Haha wouldn't it be funny if he were actually a reaper and Yifan was a dead person who teased him about his height" (since my brain is wired to Krisho). And then this happened -_-  
> Then I had to hear the song 'This Side of Paradise' by Hayley Kiyoko and I found the name for my fic as well. But I lied, Phoenix Flame and Faking It For A Living at least had half a page of scribbles, this didn't even warrant a scribble, which I am surprised since I like to structure EVERYTHING (I even make calendars for my fics lmao).  
> So, it was shocking to see so many of you enjoying this and leaving kudos and SUPER NICE comments. I am so happy all of you enjoyed this mess ;_;  
> I am so thankful and I love you all and now, I shall try to update Guns & Roses. Ciao!

**Author's Note:**

> i know Guns and Roses ain't nowhere near finished, but this idea won't leave my head


End file.
